Supply chain specialist Wincanton has swooped for a second East of England logistics provider, taking its total investment in the region this year to £49 million and making it the UK’s leading container logistics provider.
Suffolk haulage specialist, CEL Group, is the latest acquisition, bought for £24 million and joining the £25m purchase that Wincanton made in January this year of Hanbury Davies, another Suffolk container firm.
While the Hanbury Davies deal brought in a workforce of 780 operating 480 vehicles and announced Wincanton’s full time entry into the container logistics sector, the CEL deal seals its place in the market with a 15 per cent market share.
CEL Group operates a fleet of 370 vehicles and employs 470 people from centres across the UK and its acquisition brings a portfolio of major shipping lines and freight forwarders to Wincanton, significantly broadening its customer base.
It trades under three companies, CEL (Logistics), W Carter (Haulage), and CEL (Engineering) and reported turnover of approximately £60.7m in the 12 months to August 31, 2008.
Its operations cover all the major UK ports including Felixstowe, Tilbury, Dordon, Liverpool, Hull, Middlesbrough.
Though Wincanton’s announcement said the acquisition would enable the company to maximise synergy benefits with the integration of its existing container business with CEL, a manoeuvre often accompanied by job cuts, a company spokesperson said redundancies would be at a minimum as the CEL operation is expected to operate from its existing facilities.
CEL managing director, Shaun Allen, said: “Wincanton’s focus on the container industry within the supply chain mirrors our own strategic objectives for growth and we look forward to the opportunities that this will create for our customers.”
The move will also strengthen operations at the inland container terminal in Alconbury, which provides cost-effective off-dock container storage and which Wincanton says will allow it to benefit from the growth in global sourcing and low cost overseas manufacturing.
Managing director of Wincanton Emerging Solutions, Jeff Anderson, said: “This considerable strengthening of our container activities in the UK complements our market leading intermodal business in mainland Europe and demonstrates our future commitment to the container industry and our customers.
“In CEL, we have found a business that provides a strong strategic fit with Wincanton.”
The acquisition will also allow Wincanton to continue its revenue growth, which for the half-year to September 30, 2008 was 16.4 per cent above H1 2007 at £1.20bn, though pre-tax profit fell 45 per cent to £12.0m (H1 2007: £22.1m).
Wincanton has 30,000 people operating across Europe and producing an annual turnover of over £1.9bn, specialising in the automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, food service, hi- tech, industrial, energy & petroleum and retail sectors.
Darren Bear of Grant Thornton, who together with Mills & Reeve’s Norwich office advised CEL on the acquisition, said the deal’s completion was a testimony to the strength of the group.
“CEL Group is a resilient business and one of the largest independent players in the market,” said Bear. “It has continued to perform strongly and that was obviously a huge attraction to Wincanton.”
Colin Carter, joint chairman of CEL Group, said: “Having run this company for over 50 years it was a significant and emotional decision to find a new home for the business.
“Grant Thornton and Mills & Reeve went to great efforts to find the best solution for both the business and the shareholders and understood the sensitivities involved in a process like this.”
Suffolk haulage specialist, CEL Group, is the latest acquisition, bought for £24 million and joining the £25m purchase that Wincanton made in January this year of Hanbury Davies, another Suffolk container firm.
While the Hanbury Davies deal brought in a workforce of 780 operating 480 vehicles and announced Wincanton’s full time entry into the container logistics sector, the CEL deal seals its place in the market with a 15 per cent market share.
CEL Group operates a fleet of 370 vehicles and employs 470 people from centres across the UK and its acquisition brings a portfolio of major shipping lines and freight forwarders to Wincanton, significantly broadening its customer base.
It trades under three companies, CEL (Logistics), W Carter (Haulage), and CEL (Engineering) and reported turnover of approximately £60.7m in the 12 months to August 31, 2008.
Its operations cover all the major UK ports including Felixstowe, Tilbury, Dordon, Liverpool, Hull, Middlesbrough.
Though Wincanton’s announcement said the acquisition would enable the company to maximise synergy benefits with the integration of its existing container business with CEL, a manoeuvre often accompanied by job cuts, a company spokesperson said redundancies would be at a minimum as the CEL operation is expected to operate from its existing facilities.
CEL managing director, Shaun Allen, said: “Wincanton’s focus on the container industry within the supply chain mirrors our own strategic objectives for growth and we look forward to the opportunities that this will create for our customers.”
The move will also strengthen operations at the inland container terminal in Alconbury, which provides cost-effective off-dock container storage and which Wincanton says will allow it to benefit from the growth in global sourcing and low cost overseas manufacturing.
Managing director of Wincanton Emerging Solutions, Jeff Anderson, said: “This considerable strengthening of our container activities in the UK complements our market leading intermodal business in mainland Europe and demonstrates our future commitment to the container industry and our customers.
“In CEL, we have found a business that provides a strong strategic fit with Wincanton.”
The acquisition will also allow Wincanton to continue its revenue growth, which for the half-year to September 30, 2008 was 16.4 per cent above H1 2007 at £1.20bn, though pre-tax profit fell 45 per cent to £12.0m (H1 2007: £22.1m).
Wincanton has 30,000 people operating across Europe and producing an annual turnover of over £1.9bn, specialising in the automotive, chemicals, consumer goods, food service, hi- tech, industrial, energy & petroleum and retail sectors.
Darren Bear of Grant Thornton, who together with Mills & Reeve’s Norwich office advised CEL on the acquisition, said the deal’s completion was a testimony to the strength of the group.
“CEL Group is a resilient business and one of the largest independent players in the market,” said Bear. “It has continued to perform strongly and that was obviously a huge attraction to Wincanton.”
Colin Carter, joint chairman of CEL Group, said: “Having run this company for over 50 years it was a significant and emotional decision to find a new home for the business.
“Grant Thornton and Mills & Reeve went to great efforts to find the best solution for both the business and the shareholders and understood the sensitivities involved in a process like this.”
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