Glass machinery firm in MBO
A YORK manufacturing company that makes hot glass handling machinery for the bottling industry has been acquired in a seven-figure MBO backed by Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland Invoice Finance.
Sheppee International, based at Elvington near York, has been bought by a seven-strong management team led by managing director Elliott Seymour in a deal structured by Garbutt & Elliott Corporate Finance.
Renowned in its sector as one of the world’s leading suppliers of high speed glass handling equipment, the company manufactures and maintains machinery designed to move and process newly formed glass bottles and other containers at extremely high temperatures and transfer speeds.
Photographed left to right: Elliott Seymour (Sheppee), Mark Roberts (Langleys), Richard Feltham (Garbutt & Elliott), Jeff Yoward (exiting shareholder) Matthew Smith (Dickinson Dees), Mark Heyes (Royal Bank of Scotland) and Ian Massey (Alliance & Leicester) at the firm’s Elvington head office.
Exiting shareholders John Pratt and Jeffrey Yoward acquired the Sheppee business that has been in the bottling industry for more than a century, in an MBO in 1993.
Since then they have, with the help of their experienced management team and advisors, built the business into a £4.5m turnover supplier to some of the world’s leading players in the growing glass bottle industry.
“We want to realise the full potential of Sheppee and build on our successful worldwide sales to grow the company,” said Mr Seymour, who has worked with Sheppee since joining as an engineering graduate in 1996.
“We have a great and highly skilled workforce and some of the highest quality products available, and as the market grows we are well placed to really make the most of our heritage and brand,” he added.
The company sells around 90% of its output to customers as far afield as The Czech Republic, India, Russia and The Philippines through its network of 15 overseas sales agents.
In addition, it derives revenues of around £1.5m from the maintenance and servicing of products and sales of spares to existing customers.
“This is a great Yorkshire success story, a long-standing local manufacturer that has developed world-leading niche products and now has true global reach,” said Richard Feltham of Garbutt & Elliott Corporate Finance, who advised management on the deal.
“Elliott Seymour and his team are highly experienced and extremely committed to growing the business, and that will bring new skilled jobs to the area over the next few years,” he added.
The company employs 34 staff at the plant and head office in Elvington and management plan to increase the workforce by 25 per cent over the next two years.
“It has been a delight to work with the management teams, both old and new during the 15 years since the original buy-out alongside David Dickson from Garbutt & Elliott. The new buy-out team has a marvellous opportunity to develop the fantastic platform created by John Pratt and Jeff Yoward,” said Philip Ashworth of Dickinson Dees who has advised the vendors since the original MBO in 1993.
Mark Roberts, partner at law firm Langleys advised management on the transaction. The funding was arranged by Craig Iley and Ian Massey of Alliance & Leicester Commercial and Mark Heyes from RBS Invoice Finance in Leeds.
The deal sees 100% of the equity in Sheppee International bought by Elliott Seymour’s MBO team including directors Richard Moore, Simon Holmes, Gary Parkin and Chris Stocks and managers Mark Wilson, Roy Clarkson, Iain Timlin and Nick Horsley.
