WATERSHEDS ADVISES ON SUCCESSION SALE OF CENTURY-OLD ENGINEERING BUSINESS
A century-old engineering business serving industrial customers across the East Midlands has secured its long-term future following a trade sale designed to preserve both its heritage and operating ethos.
WH Shoebridge & Sons Ltd, founded in 1919 and run by the same family for more than a century, has been sold to a regional engineering specialist in a deal advised by Watersheds, the Crawley-based corporate finance firm.
The company, which operates from three sites in Northampton, Wisbech and Peterborough, specialises in the sale and repair of electric motors, geared units and associated industrial equipment. Over the decades, it has built a reputation for technical expertise and long-standing relationships with blue-chip clients across manufacturing, utilities and infrastructure.
The business had been owned and managed by its third generation, led by Managing Director Robert Shoebridge, who appointed Watersheds to oversee a succession-led sale as he prepared for retirement. Watersheds has worked alongside the Shoebridge family for more than two decades, including advising on acquisitions and disposals dating back to the early 2000s.
The transaction was led by James Owen, Partner at Watersheds, who conducted a confidential market process focused on identifying a buyer capable of safeguarding the company’s culture while supporting its next stage of growth. That search resulted in a sale to Boardley & Roberts, a regional engineering firm with a complementary technical focus and ambitions to expand its competitive scale.
For Boardley & Roberts, the acquisition provides an opportunity to broaden capability and geographic reach while retaining the flexibility and customer focus typically associated with family-owned engineering businesses.
James Owen said: “Selling a family-owned business can be a very delicate process, especially one with such a legacy and reputation for ‘punching above its weight’ as Shoebridges. It was very important for us to identify the right buyer who would understand the value of this and secure its ongoing future, for both the reassurance of staff and their high-profile, blue-chip customer base.
“We worked closely, one-to-one and face-to-face, with Robert to fully understand what he wanted in a buyer and then ran an extensive yet highly confidential exercise within this close-knit industry to find the right buyer in the right position to complete a deal.
“Being asked to lead the deal for the sale of their main family business, and three generations of dedication and expertise, was a privilege for us. Robert knew that because of our previous successful work with him, that we would deliver again and that we would be completely aligned and focused with his wish to sell to someone in the trade, and we’d keep on working for as long as it took to find the right buyer.”
Robert Shoebridge said the transaction marked a fitting conclusion to more than a century of family ownership.
“This is the third time I have worked with Watersheds and I would welcome the opportunity to work with them again in the future, should the chance arise. I’m delighted that Watersheds has been such an important part of this journey.”
Legal and financial advice on the transaction was also provided by DFA Law and Gravita.
