Thu, 24 Oct 2024 | BUSINESS SALE
William G Search, an 80-year-old supplier to the construction and events industries, has transitioned to employee ownership. The group will now be owned by its 120 employees through an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
The business was founded in 1946 by Bill Search from an attic in Leeds but has expanded over time to open offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The main activities of the group are the hire and sale of accommodation units and toilets, effluent removal, precision engineering and supply to the construction, civil engineering and construction industries.
Its work includes providing industrial air compressor solutions to manufacturers and businesses across the country.
Its clients include the construction industry and major outdoor events such as the Reading music festival and Aintree Racecourse where it has supplied equipment for the Grand National for almost 50 years.
According to its most recent results for the year ended December 31st 2023 it has a turnover of £15.2 million and a pre-tax profit of £1.1 million helped by the continued recovery of the events and leisure sector from the Covid pandemic.
Bill’s grandsons Richard William Search and his brother Jamie have owned and run the business for the last 35 years. However, their children did not want to continue the family line.
“When it came to succession planning, our children already have successful careers elsewhere, so we were keen to find the right way to secure the future of our firm for the people that matter the most – our team and our clients,” said Richard. “We had been approached several times to sell outright to competitors and other big operators in the sector, but we felt this option did not fit with our ethos. We are a family business at heart, and we wanted to do something our grandfather, who established the business 78 years ago would be proud of.”
Richard will remain with the business for at least three more years to manage the transition.
The business was advised on its EOT by Cathy Cook from Yorkshire-based LCF Law. “The Search brothers needed a retirement strategy, but they didn’t want their business to be sold and split up. They wanted to leave the business in the best possible shape for the future," she said.
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