Telford-based building products manufacturer makes £3.8m acquisition
Building products manufacturer Epwin Group, which has a distribution centre in Telford, has acquired the trade and related assets of SBS (Cumbria) Ltd in a £3.8 million deal.
SBS, which operates from eight locations across Cumbria and southern Scotland, is a distributor of plastic building products.
The business was acquired on a cash and debt free basis. Epwin Group said that it foresees strong benefits from its acquisition of SBS, which had revenues of about £6 million in the year ending February 2020.
The group also said the acquisition would further increase the geographical coverage of its plastic distribution business and would offer the opportunity for wider expansion in future, alongside its partnerships with independent distributors.
The announcement of the acquisition came at the same time as Epwin Group’s financial results for the year ending December 31 2020. The group’s revenue for the 2020 financial year was about £240 million, down from £282.1 million in 2019.
The group said its adjusted profit before tax would remain in line with the recently upgraded market consensus. Its pre-tax profits in 2019 were £12.4 million. The group’s net debt as of December 31 2020 was announced at about £18 million, down from £16.4 million in 2019.
Epwin Group CEO Jon Bednall said: “I am pleased with the group’s overall performance for 2020, as we adapted successfully to the challenges presented by Covid-19. I am also delighted with the progress we have made on our strategic priorities through the acquisition of SBS and the completion of the construction of the Telford logistics facility and finishing plant.
“We have had a brisk start to the current financial year, with the medium and long-term drivers of our markets remaining strong.”
