Ludlow JCB supplier bought out in £2.65 million deal
A hydraulic equipment supplier in Shropshire has been bought out in a deal worth £2.65 million.
Hydraulics & Transmission Ltd (HTL) in Ludlow has been snapped up by Lancashire-based Flowtech, a London Stock Exchange-listed provider of hydraulic, pneumatic and industrial equipment.
The deal is for an initial £750,000, which could increase by £1 million depending on the company's earnings until the end of 2018. As it is also taking on £900,000 worth of debt, the overall deal is worth £2.65 million.
HTL was set up in 1973, and has been owned by its current bosses since a management buyout in 2007. The company employs 25 people and is based in Lingen Road.
The company supplies equipment to companies including JCB, as well as another Ludlow company – the farming machinery manufacturer McConnell.
It will continue to operate as a standalone sister company within Flowtech's Power Motion Control division.
Managing director Ian Teece and commercial director, Richard Salisbury, who have led HTL for more than 10 years will join the group's board.
The company enjoys annual revenue of about £5.2 million, with pre-tax profits of £300,000, with assets worth £500,000.
Those figures will further bolster the performance of Flowtech, which also announced that it had enjoyed a 19.9 per cent rise in revenue in 2016, to £53.7 million.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, the company said: "Our business has shown resilience in a difficult market, with our most recent acquisitions beginning to deliver growth.
"The board remains confident in the strategy, commercial opportunities and the prospects of the group as a whole, and expects to deliver further solid growth over the coming years building on the resilient performance seen in 2016."
