Private equity firm Stellex Capital Management has acquired Blackpool-based haulier Fox Brothers Holdings Group in a move which will see chief executive Paul Fox remain at the helm.

As part of the acquisition Fox Brothers will also merge with Preston-based J A Jackson, a quarry operator and producer of recycled aggregates and ready mixed concrete.

The transaction also sees Mark Joel become company chair and Andy Swinnerton the chief operating officer.

The family firm, which was launched in 1932, has operating licences for 119 trucks and 26 trailers and employs around 600 staff.

It provides services to the construction and infrastructure industry including muck-away, haulage of aggregates, production of recycled aggregates, waste recycling, quarry operations and ready-mix concrete production. Fox Brothers also acquired Hurt Ltd and JJ O’Grady in recent years as part of its expansion into the integrated construction materials market.

Paul Fox said: “We are delighted to welcome Stellex, Mark, and Andy to our group. This is an extremely exciting time for the company and with their help and the integration of J A Jackson, we are now in a position to transform the company into a fully integrated circular construction materials business, delivering sustainable solutions to the construction industry.”

In a joint statement Joel and Swinnerton said: “We are looking forward to working with Paul and Andy Duckett, managing director and owner of J A Jackson, to assist them in their growth and continued transformation of the company into a leading, vertically integrated, circular economy construction material business. We have a clearly identified plan, which involves both organic and inorganic growth, which we will pursue in the coming months and we are excited about the opportunity.”

Mark Redman, Stellex managing partner, added: “We see strong potential in the company’s capabilities and resources and look forward to working together with management and our operators to deliver on our value creation plan.

“This acquisition aligns with our strategy to identify companies where we believe we can introduce operational expertise in an effort to drive growth and better leverage companies’ assets and resources.”

In its most recent annual results to 31 August 2023 Fox Brothers declared a 20% rise in revenue to £99m. However operating profit fell to £6.9m, down from £8.2m, a fall attributed largely to investment overheads.

 

 

 

 

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