Gloucester's CM Downton sold for £75 million

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Nicky Godding

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International private equity investor EmergeVest has announced its acquisition of CM Downton Haulage Contractors Limited, one of the UK’s leading logistics groups, in a £75 million transaction.

EmergeVest has acquired the entire shareholding from the Downton family and will provide additional capital to finance the company’s growth. The Downton family will continue in their senior management roles. Investec Bank plc supported EmergeVest’s acquisition of the company with an integrated debt package.

This investment marks EmergeVest’s seventh acquisition in the UK logistics sector since being formed in 2013. EmergeVest’s current UK portfolio includes Adjuno, Allport Cargo Services, NFT Distribution, NR Evans and Palletforce.

Established in 1955 in Gloucester, Downton generates annual revenue of arund £120 million, operates 600 tractor units and 1,800 trailers, and employs around 1,350 across the UK, including at its Moreton Valence headquarters, Quedgeley, Shepton Mallet, Chepstow, Sharpness, Hardwicke, Tuffley, Runcorn, Manchester, Dunstable, Leeds, Chatham and Tilbury.

Downton’s client list includes some of the UK’s largest companies across a range of industry sectors, including food and drink, retail, manufacturing, ink and paper, print and publishing, energy, waste and consumer goods. Clients include AB InBev, Dyson, Whirlpool, Fever-Tree, Saica Paper, UPM-Kymmene Corporation, Frontline and Marketforce.

Heath Zarin, CEO and Managing Director of EmergeVest said: “We are excited at the opportunity to bring Downton into the EmergeVest family and to be investing in a business with such significant potential.”

Andy Downton, Managing Director of CM Downton, said: “The Downton family, along with a fabulous team of people, have built a first-class operation and one that we are extremely proud of. The sale of the business has not been taken lightly, however we have always understood the importance of growth and a proper succession plan. This business is now ready for fresh energy, vigour and focus. EmergeVest are the correct successors to achieve this. They have a great vision and are building an unrivalled UK network, encompassing freight forwarding, pallet, chilled and now our ambient network.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.