Stourbridge-based commercial contractor GI Sykes, which works on retail developments, is set for further growth following a seven-figure management buyout (MBO).
GI Sykes, a third-generation family business, employs 40 staff and dozens of contractors. It will now be controllled by the existing management team, as brothers Richard and Jason Sykes, grandsons of the founder, step away, though they will continue as consultants.
Richard Downs becomes managing director, while fourth-generation family member James Sykes is operations director, Anthony Bennett is contracts director and Dan Westbury is commercial director.
The deal was supported by funding from Mercia Debt and Frontier Development Capital.
The company secured a £720,000 funding package, with half coming from Mercia’s SME Loans Fund to support the buy-out, and the remainder from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, through its appointed fund manager Frontier Development Capital.
GI Sykes was established in the 1940s by Richard Sykes as a painter and decorator, who took advantage of the post-war housing boom to expand its services.
The company now also delivers specialist coatings for cladding, roofing and flooring and carries out general building work, maintenance and repairs. Clients include local authorities, developers, private landlords and commercial property agents.
New MD Richard Downs said: "The Sykes family have built a great business with a solid reputation and we are proud to be taking over the reins.
"We want to maintain the family business ethos, which is all the more relevant as some of our employees now have their own children working in the business.
"We will continue to provide the same first-class service to existing clients while seeking opportunities to expand our service lines and client base.
"We aim to achieve steady growth, while continuing to support our loyal workforce and, through our apprenticeship scheme, nurture a new generation of skilled tradesmen in the region."
Paul Barnsley of Stourbridge-based Strategic Funding provided fundraising advice to the company.
