Member Article

Local advisers help drive sale of vehicle specialist

The award winning corporate team at Higgs & Sons and specialist CF advisers, Odyssey, have advised the former shareholders of Walsall based specialist vehicle converter, S. MacNeillie & Sons Limited on the sale of the company to Babock Critical Services Limited, a subsidiary of Babcock International Group plc. The deal was announced to the markets on Friday 30th January.

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

S. MacNeillie & Sons Limited 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.

Susheel Gupta commented: “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 S. MacNeillie & Sons fully appreciates the part played by Higgs & Sons in advising the shareholders.

He said: “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 place 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.

For specialist advice on all aspects of corporate law and taxation including restructures, disposal, mergers and acquisitions, call Susheel Gupta on 0845 111 5050 or email susheel.gupta@higgsandsons.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Taylor .