Flying high
Headquartered in Sheffield, HRS Services is a provider of building environment sustainability and inspection and maintenance services to the construction industry. Founded by brothers Ed and Tom Westgate in 1985, HRS has since grown into one of the leading players in its sector and now employs circa 80 people.
A team comprising Don Gray, Matt Scott and Declan Savage of BHP Corporate Finance advised initially on the pre-sale planning, involving management succession and the de-merger of HRS’s property portfolio. A competitive trade auction process was subsequently run with Stroma Group, a LDC portfolio investment, ultimately selected as the preferred bidder.
Ed Westgate commented “BHP Corporate Finance supported us throughout the whole process, providing expert advice and guidance at all hours to ensure that the transaction ran as smoothly as possible. Selling a business you have founded and lived with for over 30 years can be an emotional process. Having BHP on hand to listen to our concerns was tremendously reassuring.”
Don Gray added: “We are thrilled to have advised Ed and Tom on this transaction. The sale of Stroma marked the culmination of an integrated planning process involving BHP’s Corporate Finance, Tax and Private Client teams. The result demonstrates the value of taking a pro-active approach to developing an exit strategy for business owners. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the HRS team and wish them the very best in their new ventures.