Styles & Wood sale completed
Sale-headquartered fit out and services group Styles & Wood has officially joined forces with Yorkshire-based Southerns Group, after S&W’s shares ceased trading on the LSE’s Alternative Investment Market this morning.
In December it was announced that S&W would sell out to Central Square Holdings for an all-cash offer of £42.5m. CSH already had a 25% stake in Southerns, and has now acquired the remaining equity following the approval of the deal by S&W shareholders.
The business said that combining forces through Central Square would bring significant growth opportunities, with enhanced capabilities and credible reach across the full spectrum of property support services to the built environment. Both brands will continue to trade as they are.
Southerns is already active in the North West having bought furniture business Ralph Capper in 2015, and Space Invader Design in 2016. For the year to 31 December 2016, Styles & Wood reported a turnover of £104.7m and an underlying pre-tax profit of £4.1m.
Tony Lenehan, chief executive of the new group, said: “Today officially opens a new chapter for S&W and Southerns Group. The combination of both businesses creates a truly unique offering within the property services market. We believe our new group will bring exciting times for everyone involved and benefits to our customers, employees, and partners.”
Shore Capital acted as financial adviser to S&W, with Hill Dickinson acting as legal adviser to the group. Numis acted as financial adviser to CSHL. Pinsent Masons acted as legal adviser, whilst KPMG advised CSHL on debt advisory and due diligence.
