Downton acquires C&H
LOGISTICS business, C M Downton, has expanded with the acquisition out of administration of haulier C&H (Hauliers). The deal secures the jobs of 180 C&H employees.
The deal, which sees C M Downtown take possession of the business and accompanying assets of C&H, was concluded by specialist business restructuring and recovery firm, FRP Advisory.
The sale sees Downton, which is based in Gloucester and has operations in Leeds, take over significant assets, including C&H’s 130 tractor units and 250 trailers.
FRP Advisory partners Geoff Rowley, Phil Armstrong and Andrew Sheridan were appointed joint administrators of The Charles Gee Group of Companies and several of its key trading subsidiaries, including C&H on October 21, following a recent deterioration in trading conditions.
The sale of the company has ensured the security of the C&H business and it will continue to trade as normal under new ownership, serving a sector which includes the transportation of large paper reels used at the printing works for many of the UK’s leading national and regional news groups.
The joint administrators had been trading C&H as a going-concern, conducting active sales discussions, with the full support of customers, in order to secure the future of the business which today is the leading paper distribution haulier in the UK.
Andrew Downton, managing director, C M Downton Ltd, said: “The Downton Group has been looking to expand its business through either acquisition or mergers, and the C&H business was a perfect match. We both work in the same sectors – in particular with paper and publishing clients – and there are synergies for both businesses that made the deal a no-brainer.
“C&H is a fantastic business with a great heritage, which unfortunately had suffered through the cash flow difficulties of the holding company. To be able to save this business – and its staff – while driving forward our own business was too good an opportunity to turn down.”
FRP Advisory is now focused on working with the rest of the group’s customers and suppliers to try and find a buyer for the remaining parts of the business.
FRP said it was likely that during the ongoing administration process there would be redundancies within the group as overall trading conditions for logistics firms remained challenging and the joint administrators could not rule out making further cuts in due course.
