Arbuthnot Bank has agreed a £10m (€11.7m) asset finance based deal with VNA Trucks.
The management transition sees the acquisition of the controlling shareholding by the current management team, and facilitates the retirement of the two founder shareholders. John Maguire, previously the commercial director, has become the managing director to lead the transaction and Donald Houston will join the team as group finance director.
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Headquartered in Tipton, West Midlands, and with original equipment manufacturing in Taiwan, VNA Trucks focuses on products suited to confined warehouse operations. The business comprises two separate operating companies, Narrow Aisle Limited (NAL), which sells trucks, spares and maintenance services and Flexi Forklift Rental Limited (FFRL), which provides short and long-term rental of Flexi trucks and masts.
A Quantuma team, led by partner Mark Lucas and director Fardeen Nariman, advised on the deal.
Mark Lucas, partner at Quantuma, said: “We are delighted to have been able to assist the shareholders and management team in securing growth capital which will help the company to further expand on its international profile. The business benefits from a strong management team, who will continue to execute on their growth strategy.”
John Maguire, managing director of VNA Trucks, said: “Mark and Fardeen have delivered a great result for the management team and the business. They ran a smooth process with no surprises. The momentum in our sector is very positive as countries develop intralogistics structures around the world and this deal is an important step in allowing us to maximise our potential in delivering our business plans.”
Last December, Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending provided a £2m invoice discounting facility for a management buyout of a retail food supply chain company, Ralph Coleman International.
Quantuma has advised on a series of deals over the past year, including the management buyout of TRS backed by Rutland Partners, the sale of ILG to Yusen Logistics and two acquisitions by Whistl in the delivery and e-fulfilment sectors.
