Private equity firm Arcus Infrastructure Partners has acquired 83% of Workdry International, with the balance held by the current majority owners of the business (the Bright family) and senior managers.
Workdry said that the deal would give Selwood and Siltbuster the capital they needed to invest in innovation and regional expansion.
Workdry International will remain a fully independent business, with Arcus Infrastructure Partners as majority shareholder. Workdry chief executive Richard Brown, chief financial officer Nigel Apps and their executive leadership team will remain in day-to-day charge.
The Bright family, who have held a controlling interest in Workdry since 1976, will relinquish their controlling interest but remain involved in Selwood. Richard Bright, 35, will step down as chairman but remain as an investor board member.
Workdry’s latest accounts show long-term debt of £71m arising from the acquisition of Selwood Holdings and Siltbuster and next cash of £11.6m. In 2021 it turned over £104m and made a pre-tax profit of £20m.
With 21 branches and 490 employees, Hampshire-based Selwood is the UK’s leading pump hire company, and a manufacturer of pumping equipment for sale domestically and internationally. Siltbuster, based in Monmouth, Wales, and employing 77 members of staff, supplies on-site water treatment, wet waste processing and equipment to prevent waterborne pollution. Siltbuster was acquired by the group in 2018.
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Richard Brown, chief executive of Workdry International, said: “Workdry is an incredibly successful business that has grown significantly over the past decade in line with the board’s plans to deliver the very best in complete water handling and treatment solutions on a regional, national and international scale.
“Delivering the next steps in our growth required new and experienced investors to enable us to scale up while continuing to deliver the quality products and services that our customers associate with our Selwood and Siltbuster brands. The team at Arcus shares our values, vision and commitment to outstanding provision of mission-critical assets and services, and their investment will enable us to deliver on those ambitions, building on all we have achieved to date to strengthen our position as a European leader in water and wastewater asset leasing and integrated solutions.”
Arcus Infrastructure targets businesses in the digital, transport, logistics and industrials, and energy sectors. Its investment portfolio has more than €18bn-worth of infrastructure assets across Europe, including Angel Trains and several ports.
Partner Jordan Cott said: “We have spent significant time reviewing value-add industrial asset leasing businesses in Europe, and Workdry was prioritised given its strong fit with our infrastructure investment strategy. Workdry benefits from predictable and broadly non-cyclical demand, as well as a diversified and blue-chip customer base, which provides a robust foundation for future growth.
“The company’s essential role for its customers has become even more important given increasingly stringent regulation and public scrutiny with respect to the UK’s water and wastewater infrastructure. Arcus looks forward to partnering with the Bright family and Workdry’s very strong senior management team in delivering the next phase of growth for the business.”
Richard Bright said: “Our family’s involvement with the Workdry International Ltd businesses dates back to 1976 when my late father, Kevin, joined Selwood Ltd as an 18-year-old. While this transaction sees us relinquish our controlling interest in the group we will remain invested alongside Arcus, reflecting not only our confidence in the group, its leadership and employees, but also our trust in Arcus as a good home for a business that we deeply care about.”
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