FRONTMATEC, the leading global supplier of customized equipment, solutions and software for the red meat industry has entered into an agreement to acquire the world leading manufacture of captive bolt stunning tools, Accles & Shelvoke Ltd
Accles & Shelvoke has been manufacturing in Birmingham, UK, for over 100 years and has recently experienced increased demand from its global customer base for its high-quality cartridge powered tools. Frontmatec’s ownership of Accles & Shelvoke will support the business’ growth and development of new products and new markets which will help the company increase its penetration of the global marketplace.
Joe Holland, who was appointed as the General Manager of Accles & Shelvoke just over a year ago, will take full control of the captive bolt equipment manufacturing company, reporting directly to the Frontmatec management board.
Joe Holland said about the acquisition: “We sell our products all over the world, both direct to end users and through a network of over 40 distributors serving over 60 countries. In recent months, we have been focusing on expanding our presence globally by signing new distributors, in addition to building our product range of reliable and popular tools. Our new owners will help develop and build the company through continued investment, and I am excited to be leading the business in achieving that goal.”
Speaking about the changes to the business set-up, Joe added: “I do not expect any immediate changes to our current distributor arrangements, so it will be business as usual for our thousands of customers around the world.”
Accles & Shelvoke was formerly part of the Minworth-based Eley Group, which makes 22LR ammunition used in target shooting by competitors including Olympic standard athletes. The business supplies the cartridges to Accles & Shelvoke for their captive bolt equipment
New owner Frontmatec is a leading global supplier of advanced slaughter lines and other production equipment to major producers such as Tönnies, Group Bigard, WH Foods, Tyson Foods, Miratorg and Danish Crown, and has operations in Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, the US and China. With the purchase of Accles & Shelvoke, Frontmatec aims to expand on its offering of slaughterhouse equipment.
Frontmatec CEO, Henrik Andersen said about the purchase: “Frontmatec develops world-leading customized solutions for automation in the food industry, other hygiene sensitive industries and the utilities industry. Our ambition is to offer a full product and service offering to the industry, here Accles & Shelvoke is a fantastic addition to our business with an existing large share of the global captive bolt equipment market, which we aim to develop further.”
Justin Sparks and James Bailey of Springboard Corporate Finance advised Eley Group on the transaction. Legal advice was provided to Eley Group by Chris Towle of Gowling WLG. Roger Gill from XMS Capital Partners (UK), Jon Start of Emms Gilmore Liberson and Gitte Dehn Lansner of Gorrissen Federspiel advised Frontmatec on the deal.
For further information, please contact:
Frontmatec:
Henrik Andersen, CEO
Tel.: +45 445 037 14
E-mail: hea@frontmatec.com
Accles & Shelvoke:
Joe Holland, General Manager
Tel.: +44 (0) 121 351 3759
E-mail: joeholland@acclesandshelvoke.co.uk
About Frontmatec
Frontmatec develops world-leading customized solutions for automation in the food industry, other hygiene-sensitive industries and the utilities industry. Renowned for high-quality systems for the entire value chain of the meat industry – from carcass grading to slaughter lines, cutting and deboning lines, hygiene systems, control systems, to logistics and packaging, the customer base includes global food producers such as Danish Crown, Tönnies, Tyson Foods, Triumph and Miratorg. The company has activities in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the US, China, Spain, Poland, Russia and employs 1,000 employees in 10 countries with a turnover of 1,500 MDKK
About Accles & Shelvoke
Accles & Shelvoke Ltd is a specialist manufacturer and supplier of precision engineered cartridge powered Captive Bolt Stunners. The Accles & Shelvoke CASH range of captive bolt stunners are used across the world in food production industries in varied situations – from large and small meat plants to on-farm dispatch requirements. The CASH range of captive bolt stunners are the world’s leading cartridge powered stunning tools. With over 100 years of experience working with veterinarians, meat technologists, large and small meat plants worldwide on the humane slaughter of animals, Accles & Shelvoke Ltd have developed a legacy alongside a very strong brand and market leading presence in the manufacture of cartridge powered bolt stunners
About Axcel
Founded in 1994 by a group of Denmark’s largest financial and industrial institutions, Axcel is a Nordic private equity firm focusing on mid-market companies and has a broad base of both Danish and international investors. Axcel has raised four funds with total committed capital of around EUR 1,350 million. These funds have made 46 platform investments, more than 80 major add-on investments and 37 exits. Axcel currently owns nine companies with combined annual revenue of around EUR 1 billion and some 4,400 employees.