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Yorkshire recruitment subsidiary Navartis completes MBO

Yorkshire-based recruitment firm Navartis has completed an MBO, with its management team acquiring it from Greater Manchester firm Kinetic.

Navartis, which provides technical and management professionals to the transportation, civil engineering and utility sectors worldwide, has been sold by Kinetic for an undisclosed sum.

The MBO was led by Jim Sloan, the founder and managing director of Navartis.

Mr Sloan established the operation in 2008 with support from Kinetic. It was initially named Kinetic Rail but later rebranded. Navartis, which turns over £17 million, is based in Doncaster and employs 24 staff.

Navartis provides engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors and other professionals to work in sectors including rail, aviation, water, energy and power.

Navartis is the second business which Kinetic has supported from start-up to exit. The first was Kintec, an oil and gas recruitment business, which was sold to its management team in 1998.

Kinetic, which has its headquarters in Stretford, Greater Manchester, was advised on the Navartis disposal by a team at accountancy firm HURST.

The team included Nigel Barratt and Ian Dawson, of HURST Corporate Finance, and tax specialist Liz Gallagher.

Mark Heppell and Vicky Protano, of Manchester law firm JMW, also advised Kinetic.

HURST has advised Kinetic since 2008 when Neil Smith completed a management buyout of the company.

Mr Smith, managing director of Kinetic, said: “Navartis is a great success story and we are delighted to have supported Jim from start-up to exit. I wish him every success in the future.”

Mr Barratt said: “The deal is a great result for Jim as he looks to build on the success achieved for Navartis as part of the Kinetic group of companies.

“Kinetic is a business which has fantastic operational capability and a strong balance sheet. It is now looking to support other ventures in the recruitment market.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .