Brandon sold for £43m
Leamington Spa-based Wolseley has announced the disposal of its Brandon Hire division. The distributor of heating and plumbing products sold Bristol-based Brandon to private equity firm Rutland partners for £43m.
The acquisition was made because hire company Brandon “no longer fits with Wolseley’s strategic objectives”. Brandon, which has revenues of approximately £70m, employs about 1,000 people across its 177 sites.
The senior management team of Brandon, led by Tim Smith, will remain with the business and is investing alongside Rutland.
The acquisition of Brandon will be the fourth investment from Rutland’s £322m second fund, Rutland Fund II, which was raised in 2007.
Commenting on the deal, Nick Morrill, managing partner of London-based Rutland, said: “Brandon has had a difficult couple of years as it was forced to adapt to market conditions but Tim Smith and his team have done a great job in managing that process.
"Rutland looks forward to helping Brandon continue its recovery in what remains a highly challenging economic environment.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers acted as lead and debt adviser and provided due diligence support. Taylor Wessing acted as legal adviser. The management was advised by Livingstone Partners with legal advice from Dundas & Wilson.
