Dow Schofield Watts advises the shareholders of the Access Building Products Group on its cross-border sale to Röko AB
The Access Building Products Group (“ABP Group”), with its head office at Tockwith, is the holding company for four wholly owned subsidiaries: Access Building Products Ltd, Jupiter Blue Ltd, House of Canopies Ltd, and GRP Products Ltd. The ABP Group has consolidated sales of c. £15m and 88 employees.
The ABP Group is a specialist manufacturer and supplier of products for commercial and residential buildings, predominantly focused on access panels and door canopies, where it holds a leading position in the UK market. The ABP Group supplies trade customers, contractors, housebuilders, and end customers through its brands, Access Building Products, Jupiter Blue, and House of Canopies. It has two manufacturing sites in the UK, based at Tamworth and Bolton.
Röko AB (“Roko”) has acquired 85% of the shares of the ABP Group. Bob Elderton, the Managing Director of ABP Group, will own the remaining 15%.
Röko, which is headquartered in Sweden and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm with a market capitalisation of c. £1.8 billion, is a perpetual owner of European small and medium-sized businesses with strong market positions in their respective niches and currently owns 32 companies in a variety of industries across Europe. The acquisition of ABP Group is Röko’s 9th platform acquisition in the UK, and it will be integrated into its B2B segment.
Bob Elderton, managing director and shareholder of the Access Building Products Group, said, “We are delighted that the Access Building Products Group is becoming part of Röko and are excited to continue to grow the businesses as part of an international organisation. With Röko’s exceptional track record, we are convinced that we have found the right owner to support the next phase of our journey”.
The Dow Schofield Watts Corporate Finance team consisted of Roger Esler, Mike Barker, and Paul Herriott. Other advisers to the shareholders were Freeths LLP (legal) and Xeinadin (taxation and accounting).
Roger Esler, Corporate Finance Partner at Dow Schofield Watts, commented, “It has been a pleasure to advise the shareholders of the Access Building Products Group on this cross-border sale to a strategic buyer with a proven track record of acquiring and growing specialist businesses. We wish Bob, Martin and all the employees the very best for the future as part of Röko”.
