Evac+Chair International, the market leader in manufacturing life safety products, has been bought out by business partners Gerard Wallace and Ian Thompson.
The business was bought utilising outside funding, having acquired the shares from the previous owner and managing director Mark Wallace. Gerard will now take on the role as managing director with Ian Thompson as sales and marketing director.
The buyout comes 35 years after the company was founded, following a previous management buy-out. The company develops a range of products through its Evac+Chair, ParAid and Sigma divisions.
Gerard Wallace has worked in the business since 2013 as operations director. Ian Thompson joins from Advanced Electronics. He has a 30-year track-record in the fire and safety industry.
Remaining on the board as non-executive chairman, former MD of Evac+Chair International, Mark Wallace, said: “A management buy-out (MBO) is the ideal way to continue our growth trajectory. We’re hitting record financial results which show our products are all meeting global and tangible market needs.”
Gerard Wallace added “Evac+Chair is internationally-recognised as a market leader in its field. The growth and success of strong regional businesses, such as Evac+Chair, are critical to the success of the overall UK economy.”
The MBO team was advised by Patrick Abel and Pete Newton of Corporate Finance, Hart Shaw LLP with legal support being provided by Duncan Reid and Kirsty Adamson of Watson Burton LLP. Ian Mansell and Ian Howey, Senior Directors in the Structure Debt team at Yorkshire/Clydesdale Bank worked on the debt aspects of the deal. Clydesdale Bank in Birmingham was advised by Andrew Madden and James Miller of Gateley Plc. Mark Wallace was advised by Darren Hodson of Smith Cooper Corporate Finance and Chris Wright of Legal Clarity Ltd. Malcolm Cook and Steve Nock of Orbis Partners provided financial due diligence support to the Bank.
