The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire April/May Edition 2015 | Page 9

FINANCE

Hear it from the experts…
Local Finance Specialist
Protecting your Limited Company
Completes International Deal from losing assets.
A Wiltshire firm of corporate finance specialists
have successfully completed the sale of a UK
refrigerated display equipment manufacturer
with a turnover of £15 million to a multinational corporation. Watersheds facilitated
the acquisition of Bedfordshire business Manor
Concepts Limited by Italian-based, global retail
equipment company Arneg S.p.A, which has a
turnover of more than 500 million.
The Swindon-based firm was tasked with
selling Manor Concepts to a strategic buyer
enabling the shareholders to leave while
providing a platform for growth.
A match was found in the form of Arneg
S.p.A, a company with a strong pedigree in
the industry having been
established in 1963
and now operating
20 factories and 11
commercial offices in
25 countries. A deal
was concluded within
nine months.
Watersheds
identified the two
businesses as a good fit
due to shared characteristics,
including innovation, customer service and
complimentary areas of operation in the
UK market.
Watersheds director Sue Green said:
“The strategic fit of Manor and Arneg
was clear from the start. While selling to
large overseas buyers can be complex and
challenging, it can offer a near perfect
result for the shareholders, the company

and the staff. I am confident that the
acquisition by Arneg is just the start of an
even greater future for Manor Concepts
and its people.”
Manor Concepts, based in Sandy,
was founded by Neville Ball and David
Winstanley in 1996 and
now turns over £15
million.
Watersheds,
based in the
town’s Bath
Road, worked
closely with the
management
team at Manor
through detailed
negotiations.
Michael Tucker, managing director of
Manor Concepts, said: “The support and
guidance from Watersheds throughout the
whole process was invaluable. By keeping
us involved, as needed, and well informed,
we were also able to carry on with the
normal business activities, with a successful
outcome for all concerned.”

“selling to large overseas
buyers can be complex and
challenging, it can offer a
near perfect result for the
shareholders, the company
and the staff”

‘Limited liability’ generally refers to limited
companies (and LLPs). If they fail, the assets of
the company will be lost, but all of the personal
assets of the shareholders will be safe.
So, the business owners still keep their
homes and investments and could start up a
new business.
When there is a lot of capital tied up in
the company – in the form of plant and
equipment; vehicles; property etc- all these
assets would be lost. Then, starting up
again could mean that years or even
decades may be need