Farleys’ corporate team has advised the owners of B&W Plant Hire & Sales Ltd on the sale of the business to Fox Group.
The plant hire company was established in 1963 when owners Bill and Mary Whitwell started with just one piece of equipment, a JCB 3C. B&W now has depots across England, in Blackburn, Keighley, Northwich, and Southampton, and a hire fleet of more than 2,500 items of equipment.
The multimillion-pound sale has seen B&W become part of the growing national firm Fox Group which employs 700 people and operates from 30 locations with a fleet of 300 wagons and 4500 plant and machinery items.
Andrew Partington, managing director at B&W, said: “I am very excited by the acquisition and the future growth it will bring to our team. I am proud to be the managing director of B&W within the acquisition by the Fox Group.”
Will Whitwell, owner of B&W, commented “After a lifetime in the industry, and 25 years building B&W, I feel that the time is right for the next chapter in the company’s journey. Fox Group are a fantastic fit to hand B&W over to – Paul and his team are very dynamic and the future will be exciting for the company.”
Farleys’ Debbie King advised B&W on the corporate aspects of the deal while Tom O’Neill advised on the commercial property aspects and Victoria Mitchell on employment law.
Debbie commented,
I’ve had the pleasure of working with B&W for around 15 years so it was great to work with Will and the team again on this deal and achieve a favourable outcome for the business. They have done an excellent job building a successful business over the years and I wish everyone involved best of luck as part of Fox Group.
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