Engineering services giant Babcock in takeover of MacNeillie

A Walsall company which converts vehicles for the the Ministry of Defence, fire, police and ambulance services has been bought by one of the world's biggest engineering groups.

Babcock International has bought MacNeillie from shareholders including chairman Keith Bradley for an undisclosed figure.

Based in Stockton Close, where it has its own ballistics facility to test vehicle armour, MacNeillie employs around 300 people UK-wide. Babcock says the firm will continue to trade as MacNeillie and operate from its existing facilities under Nigel Rowley, its managing director.

Mr Rowley said: "This is an incredible opportunity for MacNeillie and we very much welcome being part of the Babcock family.

"I'd also like to pay credit to Keith Bradley, the MacNeillie chairman, and our people for what has been achieved over the last 40 years – this has provided an exceptionally strong foundation for international growth with Babcock

"I'm also delighted that we can offer our customers even greater value going forward as well as reassuring them that it's business as usual on our sites – with the same high level of service delivered by the same people at the same locations."

S MacNeillie & Sons is one of Europe's largest specialist vehicle conversion companies and a world leading manufacturer of armoured vehicles. Established in 1947, the company, which also has offices in Uxbridge and the United Arab Emirates, is a long established supplier to the emergency services, military, civil service and other security focused organisations throughout the world. Last year the firm turned over in excess of £34m.

Last month Babcock won the £900m 10-year contract to look after all the British Army's vehicles and the group says it believes MacNeillie will benefit from the growth opportunities brought by its new owner's scale, broader customer portfolio and international operations.

Babcock said that in acquiring MacNeillie, it recognised it could add even greater value to its customer portfolio "helping them to deliver more, more efficiently and without compromising on quality". Currently Babcock manages over 30,000 vehicles globally.

Neal Misell, managing director for Babcock's Critical Services business said: "We are delighted to have MacNeillie within the Babcock Group. It is a brand renowned for its quality, expertise and innovation within the sectors it serves and we both share the same values; namely a focus on our people and their safety, long term partnerships and excellence in delivery.

"The acquisition of MacNeillie is particularly significant to the business as it provides the final piece in our whole life asset management capability. Agnostic in approach, we can continue to help our customer procure the right asset for the job whilst, for the first time, fully manage the asset from the conversion design and manufacture through to replacement. We look forward to MacNeillie reaping the benefits of our customer base and international growth."

The corporate team from Brierley Hill-based law firm Higgs & Sons advised the former shareholders of the specialist vehicle converter and supplier on the sale of the company to Babock Critical Services Limited, a subsidiary of Babcock International Group.

The Higgs & Sons team, led by corporate partner Susheel Gupta advised the owners of the Walsall based business throughout the transaction.

Susheel Gupta, a partner based in Higgs & Sons' corporate team said: "Higgs provided comprehensive advice across several areas including corporate, tax, commercial, property and employment matters.

"Working collaboratively was key to our support, and it was gratifying to all who were involved that we were able to help the shareholders secure this significant deal."

Keith Bradley, chairman of MacNeillie, added: "We engaged Higgs & Sons to help us sell the business and Susheel and the team helped manage the process from day one, putting everything in place to ensure the deal went through smoothly. He made sure the right advisers were in position for each aspect of the negotiations and we can only express our gratitude for their invaluable guidance."

Ray Harris, director at Odyssey Corporate Finance, said: "The combination of Higgs and Odyssey worked well together to deliver a very successful outcome to the shareholders. It proves that the combination of a great business, together with joined up advice will always achieve the right outcome."

DLA Piper's London office advised Babcock Critical Services Limited.