Mitchell Charlesworth has completed its first transaction through its new Accelerated service with the sale of manufacturer Watford Control.
The ‘Accelerated’ service was established in early 2016 to deliver high-speed support for businesses looking to sell quickly to meet a goal or due to cash flow, profit and balance sheet pressureMitchell Charlesworth has offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, Warrington and Widnes.
The latest deal saw Watford Control sold to a consortium of two existing market place competitors, JMS Transformers Limited based at Peterborough and Envirovolt Limited (t/a Carbon Management Services), based in Hertford.
The transaction was completed in just 16 weeks and saw 18 jobs saved, around half the total workforce, at the ailing voltage control and power supply business.
Total sales of all products across the newly acquired business are expected to top £2million for 2017 from a dedicated market driven sales force now supporting the traditional manufacturing site with planned growth of 15pc year on year.
‘Accelerated’ brings three of Mitchell Charlesworth’s key service teams together – Corporate Finance, Corporate Recovery & Insolvency and Tax Advisory to ensure clients have all the advice they need from one advisor.
Mitchell Charlesworth partner Brian McCann, who leads the MC Vanguard Corporate Finance division, said “Our goal is always to maximise value for the shareholders but with the Accelerated service we have the additional goal to sell assets or businesses as quickly as possible.
“After starting work with Watford Control back in February we completed the entire business acquisition process in little more than 16 weeks – a role which usually requires six months or more to bring to fruition.
“The result is that the firm will now remain under UK control with the new management team at the helm. Half the jobs have been saved and employees will be transferred with minimum disruption to a site near the Watford Control base in Corby.”
Formed in 1947, Watford Control is considered to be the world leader in voltage control, having patented the technology for AC mains Voltage Stabilisers and Regulators in 1972. Since then, they have shipped thousands of units worldwide.
Head of Mitchell Charlesworth’s Corporate Restructuring team, Jeremy Oddie, said “The business had just weeks left before it would have been forced to make a second wave of redundancies and enter into a phased shutdown.
“All staff at Watford Control remained committed throughout the acquisition process by working out their employment terms to ensure the business continued to function efficiently. There is a great appreciation all round for their efforts as well as for the loyalty shown by suppliers and customers who remained patient.
“One of the first and most important roles we supported with was stabilising Watford Control and ensuring it was operating efficiently and in a way which could attract purchasers and investment.
“Initial groundwork included a thorough interrogation of the business operation and the subsequent compilation of a business summary. We were then able to circulate this information confidentially to an extensive international network before negotiating with interested parties and rationalising the best possible deal for Watford Control.
“Our corporate finance division has a long established network developed over more than 10 years and includes several hundred contacts with an interest in buying businesses. Further, membership of the Kreston international network enables us to open international channels with corporate investors globally. Interest in this business was generated from both UK and overseas parties.
“The strength of our network is invaluable to organisations like Watford Control – an established family business, who is not only excellent at what it does, but also operates in a niche sector and needs to target a specific type of investor or buyer.
“Clients can use our ‘Accelerated’ service during various urgent circumstances, such as the loss of a key member of the management team, the loss of a major customer, a market change leading to declining sales in a product or service, change in working capital cycles, reduction in margins, or unforeseen costs.
“Any of these circumstances can put sudden pressure on a successful business and cause rapid loss of value if steps are not taken quickly to address the problem or realise value.”
Full details of the ‘Accelerated’ service are now available on the Mitchell Charlesworth website www.mitchellcharlesworth.co.uk/services/accelerated.aspx . For more information contact 0151 255 2300 or email cara.bartlett@mitchellcharlesworth.co.uk
Notes to editors
Mitchell Charlesworth
Mitchell Charlesworth was formed more than 135 years ago and has grown into one of the largest independent practices in the North West. Operating with over 150 staff across five offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Widnes, Warrington and Chester, the firm of Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors provides a comprehensive range of services in the areas of financial and taxation advice.
Mitchell Charlesworth excels at working closely with clients to ensure they maximise their full potential by using their experienced partners and staff, as well as their extensive contact base in the financial markets, to achieve the best results. Whether looking at business improvements, extending trade alternatives or ensuring the best deal is obtained in a business acquisition or disposal; the services are led by partners with years of experience supported by a qualified and enthusiastic staffing team delivering:
- Statutory audit
- Accountancy
- Corporate and personal taxation
- Company acquisitions and disposals
- Corporate recovery and insolvency
- Management buyouts
- Due diligence
- VAT
- Tax planning
- Pensions and investment advice
- Payroll
Mitchell Charlesworth is the trading name of Mitchell Charlesworth LLP, registered in England and Wales number OC391811. A list of members is available for inspection at our offices.
Watford Control
Being the premium brand for EMEA and global emerging markets, Watford Control voltage stabilisers enable customers with poor quality or intermittent mains power supplies to “buck or boost” their incoming phase voltages by +/-40% (or greater if required), maintaining a steady supply voltage, thereby protecting plant and equipment from dangerous spikes, whilst maintaining full power to the site – something UPS or Generators alone cannot do. For the UK market, the PSR Voltage Optimisation system utilises key components of the stabiliser technology delivering unrivalled voltage control along with Carbon, Cost and Consumption savings. In addition to these core markets, Watford Control is a major supplier to the French nuclear sector along with other prestigious customers such as CERN, GCHQ, ITV, The World Food Programme and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and US Embassies, all of whom maintain their power supplies with Watford Control technology.
Carbon Management Services
Carbon Management Services, based in Hertford, was established in 2009 with the primary aim of designing and installing voltage optimisation systems throughout the UK. The Managing Director, Mark Massetti, is supported by a team of business development managers, surveyors and engineers to ensure that projects are efficiently managed from start to finish. Its aim is to provide clients with a voltage optimisation system which is designed and installed to meet specific requirements. All voltage optimisation units are manufactured in the UK meeting stringent quality control regulations and are approved to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004. They comply with the current European EMC directive ensuring the units are reliable.
JMS Transformers
JMS Manufacturing was established in 1991 by Sean and Jeff Harris. Since then the company has expanded dramatically. It currently has 10 winding machine of which five are non-automated and serve as small production runners and five are fully automated and are used in high production runs. It also has a large quantity of automated lamination stacking machines for high medium and low volume production runs. The firm is regularly adding to its complement of machinery which in turn offers our customers greater service and flexibility.