MBO at Yorkshire Building Services

It is the second management buyout (MBO) for Birstall-based Yorkshire Building Services in its 30 years of trading.

Yorkshire Building Services provides mechanical heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, electrical installations, building management and maintenance services.  It has 65 employees and in the year to 30^th June 2021 it turned over £20m and made a pre-tax profit of £1m.

The MBO was led by David Broadhurst and Mark Peat, both aged 50, and who are now both majority shareholders in the business, along with Tim Anderson and Darren Hill, who have also increased their share.

David Broadhurst joined the firm when it was established in 1992; Mark Peat, Tim Anderson and Darren Hill have all worked there for more than 10 years.

Former shareholders Andrew Sutcliffe and Paul Harrison, who themselves completed a management buyout of the firm in 2007, will continue to work in the business for the foreseeable future.

David Broadhurst said: “Over the last 30 years Yorkshire Building Services has established a superb reputation for the breadth of projects we work on and the practical approach to the design and innovative engineering solutions that we offer. Our extensive client base now includes the likes of M&S, Waitrose & Partners, Morrisons, Royal Mail and a recent introduction into public sector work.

“Both Andrew and Paul have been key to this and have always strived to lead a well-run business that offers an industry leading standard of service. The buyout comes at a time when the business is thriving, and we are working on a vast range of exciting and innovative projects throughout the UK including DWP Job Centres, HSBC data centres, MoJ covid reduction works and local authority leisure centres.”

The buyers were advised by Cathy Cook from LCF Law and Dale Coleman from accountants Ford Campbell Freedman. Adrian Ballam from Ward Hadaway advised the sellers.

Cathy Cook said: “After completing a management buyout themselves, Andrew and Paul knew the importance of succession planning, and in recent years had already taken steps to pave the way for the new shareholders. This thorough preparation made it a seamless transaction to work on because everyone involved was unified and already had a clear understanding of the eventual outcome. This resulted in a very smooth transition for Yorkshire Building Services’ clients and team, and the MBO is a fantastic example of how other business owners and management teams can plan effectively and successfully for the future.”

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