Hazlewoods Corporate Finance advises Lakes Bathrooms MBO

The management team of an award-winning British bathroom company has acquired the business in a multi-million-pound deal.

Gloucestershire-based Hazlewoods Corporate Finance advised on the sale of family-owned Lakes Bathrooms Ltd, which is based in Tewkesbury and trades as Lakes Showering Spaces.

Founded in 1986 by Robin Craddock and his father, Lakes grew organically and gained a reputation for manufacturing high quality shower enclosures, doors, and bath screens, and for providing excellent customer service.

Record-breaking year for the Hazlewoods Corporate Finance team

Innovative products including AllClear stay clean coating and PureVueHD low-iron glass helped the company to win multiple industry awards.

The new owners, Mike Gahir, Bev Brown, Chris Thain and Darren Bedford, were already directors in the business following a management restructure last year. They have acquired Lakes Bathrooms Ltd and its subsidiaries, including a manufacturing facility in China.

This management buyout will secure the future of the business which employs more than 100 people and supplies some of the UK’s best-known buying groups.

Bev Brown, who joined the company as Finance Director in 2012, said: “This is a new era for Lakes. We are committed to building on the excellent reputation, quality, and superior customer service which has enabled the business to thrive for so many years.

“I would like to thank Rich Grover and the Hazlewoods team for their unwavering support throughout the process. Rich became a trusted adviser and his expertise and guidance was instrumental in achieving a successful outcome.”

Hazlewoods Corporate Finance Director Rich Grover, who led the transaction, said: “This is a super outcome for Lakes and the MBO team, who I know have ambitious plans to grow the business.

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“It was a pleasure to assist the shareholders with succession plans for the Business, which has a long and distinctive history as a key player in the Bathroom Industry. We wish the management team every success with their plans for business.”

The MBO deal was financed by Praetura Group, a financial services company which specialises in lending and equity solutions for start-ups and SMEs.