James Heal snapped up by US venture capital firm
PRECISION engineering business James Heal, which can trace its roots back to 1872, has been acquired by a US investment firm, bringing to an end the Repper family’s 68-year ownership.
The Halifax business, which specialises in the design and manufacture of textile testing laboratory instruments, has been acquired by Boston-based Battery Ventures for an undisclosed sum.
James Heal was founded in 1872 by George James Henry. In 1946 it was bought by engineer Harry Repper, and his son David took over at the helm in 1982 and began to focus business activity on textile testing.
Today, the company specialises in fabric and colour fastness testing and supplies its equipment to textile and garment manufacturers around the globe, many of which supply retailers including Next, BHS, Marks & Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria’s Secret and Louis Vuitton.
Battery Ventures is an investment firm focused on technology and innovation worldwide with $4.7bn in assets under management.
In partnership with Battery, James Heal, which employs 100 people and has turnover of £10m, will continue to push ahead with plans for further growth.
Battery’s additional resources will support increased investment in technology and complementary acquisitions.
Following the acquisition, Amanda McLaren, the company’s current manufacturing director, will take over the responsibilities of managing director from David Repper.
The rest of the board of directors will continue to lead the company under the new ownership.
David Repper will continue to be involved as a consultant to James Heal on a part-time basis to assist with product development, customer relations and operations.
As part of the deal, Battery executive-in-residence Don Templeman will join James Heal as chairman and director.
Richard Hepworth, partner at Pannone Corporate, led the team which advised the shareholders of James Heal on the transaction. The team included Mark Winthorpe, Arshnoor Amershi, Craig Geraghty and Steve Mutch.
Hepworth said: “James Heal is a market leader for “extraordinary testing solutions” across a number of industries including textiles. We have been delighted to help the Repper family in the sale of a company which has a long history going back generations but which is constantly innovating to meet ever changing customer needs.
“The sale to Battery Ventures is the next step in this evolution and, with Amanda McLaren at the helm James Heal is in an excellent position to capitalise on the opportunities in the market.”
Corporate finance advise was provided by Adrian Richmond, Roy Convery and Chris Steed from Argyll Partners.
