£55 Million Deal To Acquire LG Harris
Orbis has advised the shareholders of LG Harris & Co Ltd (“Harris”) on the disposal of the Bromsgrove business to a wholly owned subsidiary of Oslo-headquartered Orkla for £55m.
The transaction was led by James Grenfell and Gary Ecob with legal support from Simon Gill at Gateley plc.
Orbis were engaged in 2013 to deliver a profit improvement plan and subsequently orchestrate a sales process to maximise consideration for shareholders. In 2013 the business had revenues of £49m and EBITDA of £1.4m. For the 12 months to March 2016, Harris achieved revenues of £61m and EBITDA of £5.7m.
Harris was founded in 1928 and is owned by the Harris family, together with the company’s management and employees.
Harris is a market leader for painting tools in the UK Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market, with well-known brands such as Harris, Lynwood, Harris Victory and T-Class. The majority of the company’s sales are made in the UK market, and there is also significant export business.
With well-established brands and solid customer relations, Harris holds a leading market position in the UK. Orkla House Care and Harris are a very good fit. With the acquisition of Harris, Orkla House Care is significantly strengthening its presence in the UK and expanding its portfolio in the DIY market.
Bjørn Drabløs, CEO
Orkla House Care owns the Jordan, Anza, Spekter and Hamilton brands and is a leading supplier of painting tools in the Nordic region. In the professional market in the UK Orkla is one of Europe’s largest painting tool manufacturers.
Harris owns two factories, one located at its Head office in Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove and the other is located in Zhaoqing City in Guangdong Province (China). In total, Harris has almost 1,000 employees.
As well as this, Harris also owns 50% of a joint venture with a local partner in India, serving the Indian market. Furthermore, the company has a minority shareholding in a painting tool manufacturer in Sri Lanka.
