Clipper delivers £15m acquisition
Clipper Logistics a leading provider of value-added logistics solutions and e-fulfilment to the retail sector is to acquire the entire issued share capital of CE Repair Services Group B.V (CE Repair) in the Netherlands for £14.8m (€17.5m).
The deal for CE Repair a specialist in consumer electronic repair services based in Dordrecht in the Netherlands providing services across the Benelux countries, will expand the Leeds-based company’s electronic product repair capability in mainland Europe and complement its existing operations in the UK.
CE Repair has been a family-owned company operating since 1984 and has built a market leading position, across the Benelux region, in electronic equipment repairs for global blue-chip companies. In the financial year to 31 December 2020 CE Repair had an EBIT of €1.9m on a revenue of €23m, with good growth during the current financial year meaning the deal is immediately earnings in enhancing for Clipper.
Through its Servicecare and RepairTech businesses, Clipper already repaired over 1 million electrical products in its last financial year as part of its value-added returns services to retailers. This acquisition extends the firm’s geographical footprint in mainland Europe, and in particular its presence in the circular economy and its provision of a full end-to-end suite of services for online and omnichannel retailers.
Steve Parkin, executive chairman at Clipper said: “We are delighted to have increased our footprint in technical services with this acquisition. CE Repair is a profitable and cash generative business and will enable Clipper to widen the range of services that we can offer our customers in mainland Europe. We welcome the employees and management team of CE Repair to the Clipper Group and look forward to continuing to build the breadth and depth of our services and customer base across mainland Europe.”
Following the completion of the deal, which is subject to a number of conditional formalities and is expected to take place in the next few weeks, the existing CE Repair management team will remain within the business to continue to deliver double digit organic growth and identify further bolt-on acquisitions in Mainland Europe.
The initial consideration is €12.5m in cash, with up to a further €5.0m deferred consideration dependant on EBIT growth to €3.5m in calendar year 2024. The consideration is being funded from Clipper’s existing cash and bank facilities.
