A North West professional services group has used its multi-disciplinary expertise to help complete a major Midlands manufacturing deal.

DJH, which has eight offices across, Manchester, Altrincham, Bury, Chester, Nantwich, Liverpool and the Wirral, supported full buy-side advisory on S&S Steelstock’s acquisition of Trident Sections in Kingswinford in the West Midlands.

The Corporate Finance Lead Advisory team brought together experts from multiple offices, delivering the purchase within a relatively short timeframe and in a position that allows the enlarged business to create several jobs by making the most of opportunities in the automotive, construction and electrical sectors.

The deal utilised in-house specialists within VAT and fundraising, including DJH’s David Wright (Head of Commercial Finance) securing a seven-figure funding package from HSBC UK.

“This is a fantastic purchase that brings together two-well established Black Country businesses, who collectively have more than 60 years of industrial heritage between them,” explained Lewis Pearson, Corporate Finance Director at DJH.

“S&S Steelstock has a long-standing background in supplying products to the auto supply chain, and this deal gives it the opportunity to capitalise on Trident Section’s expertise in specialist narrow slitting, whilst also expanding into galvanized steel capping and channel works – predominantly for the electrical wholesale market.”

He continued: “The two firms share similar manufacturing values of quality and delivery performance, and this deal creates efficiencies of scale and the ability to bolster on complementary capabilities to the S&S offer.

“Importantly, the two businesses will now both be operational from the 15,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Kingswinford, creating immediate additional capacity and helping to reduce lead times to customers.”

S&S Steelstock, which supplies mild steel coil, plate and sheared blanks, has been clients of DJH’s Bury office for more than twenty years and approached Director Richard Bell to support the business with the potential acquisition of Trident Sections.

Lewis, who led the transaction on behalf of DJH, continued: “The acquisition highlights the wide range of expertise and specialisms we can bring to the table, whilst keeping everything in-house definitely accelerated the process and completion date. We’re seeing a spike in interest from clients looking for a professional services provider that can look after most of the deal from start to finish.”

Chris Downs, Director of S&S Steelstock, added his support: “We are passionate about UK manufacturing and the opportunity to bring Trident Sections into the family represented a perfect fit that will hopefully lead to growth and new jobs.

“DJH has a been a superb partner on the deal. It meant we could use one specialist for 99% of the transaction and this allowed us to focus on everyday business activities, whilst the purchase was being formulated and completed. Despite all the complexities, it has been a relatively smooth process!”

DJH worked extremely closely with Luke Pritchard and Sophie Knapper at Knights on the legal elements of the deal.

The seven-figure funding package was a combination of a cash flow loan, commercial mortgage and invoice financing facility organised in partnership with HSBC UK.

Melissa Orpe, Area Director for HSBC UK, went on to add: “In completing this acquisition, S&S Steelstock is acting on a clear opportunity and securing the future of valuable manufacturing jobs in the heart of the Black Country.

“When the business case was made to us, it became apparent that this move adds
supply chain stability to the sector, whilst opening further growth opportunities for the business. We’re excited to see what the future holds for this partnership.”

Luke Pritchard, Corporate Partner at Knights, concluded: "Every successful transaction relies on strong partnerships. DJH led the financial strategy, whilst we ensured the legal framework was watertight, incorporating advice from our corporate, real estate, banking, tax and employment teams.

“We were delighted to advise the buyers and are excited to see how the business develops under the leadership of Barry, Chris and Jon.”