New £250k acquisition for Stockport safety group

Stockport-based Safety and Lifting Group Ltd has today announced the acquisition of New-Tonne Lifting Services Ltd trebling its staff.

The Group, which in 2011 acquired Trafford Lifting Services Ltd, completed the £250,000 deal to acquire the business which will operate under the SAL holding group umbrella. The Group’s owners have pledged to keep New-Tonne Lifting Services Ltd operating from its business base in Newton-le-Willows, safeguarding 15 jobs.

SAL’s founders, Carl Oldham and Mark Smith, have grown the business from a £90,000 operation to one that now exceeds £2 million in just four years. The Group now also employs a total of 22 staff.

Speaking of their approach to growth, commercial director Carl Oldham said: “We are delighted to be in a position to announce our latest acquisition.

“We’ve transformed the business greatly in four years; we started out by solely servicing the construction industry through the provision of safety and lifting equipment and building a great client base there however our decision to acquire Trafford Lifting Services Ltd two years ago helped us break other markets.

“Our client mix now hail from the construction, engineering and manufacturing sectors and I’m thrilled we’ve added to this with the acquisition of another fantastic and well established business in that sector; it is a step in the right direction for our group.”

Carl Oldham and operations director Mark Smith launched their venture in 2009 following a period both working for Speedy Hire PLC. Carl has an entrepreneurial background while Mark’s operational expertise at Speedy and formerly Lloyds British brings the sector knowledge needed.

Mark added: “We know the industry well and have seen how others have operated successfully as well as learning from those who’ve made mistakes. We determined a few years’ ago that organic growth in this sector would not be the best way forward for our business and thankfully with the support of our bankers and accountants we’ve been able to strike deals on businesses like Newton.”

New-Tonne Lifting Services Ltd has been in operation since 1991 and boasts an impressive client base including Airbus and Weir Minerals.

Mark added: “Our acquisitions are determined by one factor; the depth of the business we’re buying. In New-Tonne and Trafford we’ve got two well-established organisations, Trafford was founded in 1975 and New-Tonne has more than 20-years of trading. They’ve got great clients and are sound businesses to have bought.”

The deal was completed with the advice of SAL Group’s accountants Clarke Nicklin in Cheadle. A mix of funding options have been agreed, including the reinvestment of some of the Group’s profits.

Carl and Mark are now turning their attentions to their growth plan for 2014 which includes the further acquisition and the launch of a yet-to-be announced overhead crane division. The directors hope its growth in the next 12 months will increase turnover again to £2.5million.

The SAL holding group now comprises Trafford Lifting Services Ltd and New-Tonne Lifting Services Ltd and the impressive client base includes Kellogg’s,,Cargills and GM Police. 22 staff operate from its two business bases in Stockport and Newton-le-Willows.