Lodders seals the deal for pump business Flotronic

Lodders’ corporate team has acted for Whitehouse Industries Limited on its sale of Flotronic Pumps Limited, a specialist Diaphragm Pump business, to US corporation Unibloc, which is backed by US PE house, May River Capital.

Previously, Lodders advised Whitehouse on its acquisition of Flotronic in 2019, since when the manufacturer has recorded significant growth in Europe and North America, and seen profitability more than double.

Whitehouse Industries is the investment vehicle of Midland industrialist Stuart Whitehouse, who set up the business following the sale of his previous business, Heads and Threads.

Founded in 1990, Flotronic Pumps is a specialist air operated double diaphragm (AODD) manufacturer that serves more than 1,000 global companies operating manufacturing facilities of iconic brands in food and beverage, consumer product goods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other critical process manufacturing applications.

It has a global reputation as the inventor of the ‘One Nut’ AODD pump, the company’s pioneering single bolt design that significantly reduces process downtime by simplifying pump assembly / disassembly, providing savings in maintenance costs along with best-in-class air pump performance.

Short timescale

Commenting on the sale of Flotronic, Stuart Whitehouse says: “Important to this acquisition is that both companies share complementary market footprints, the combination will enable Unibloc Pump to grow its UK and European business, whilst also giving Flotronic Pumps an unmatched North American foothold. That should pay off in greater market coverage and increased overall value delivered to the customer.”

He adds: “I would like to give my thanks to Graham, Leanne and Nicola and the rest of the Lodders team for their work on this sale. As ever, their speedy pragmatic advice and wealth of experience was very high quality, which enabled the deal to be completed within a short timescale.”

Lodders’ partner Graham Spalding (pictured) led the firm’s team acting for Whitehouse on the deal. He says: “We are delighted to have helped Whitehouse Industries on this successful exit. The deal was squarely within Lodders’ corporate target market – acting for owner managers on deals typically with a value between £1 million and £20 million.

“The transaction follows a strong period of growth for the corporate and commercial team, which includes the completion of several other recent deals including the £10million sale of Chrysalis to Autofutura, an automotive software business backed by UK PE house Inflexion; the buyout of Print Solutions, a Nottingham print business; the purchase of Design Rule for LDC backed Solid Solutions; and the disposal of agricultural machinery business Murley Agriculture.“

David Neate, Partner, Springboard Corporate Finance, also advised Stuart Whitehouse on the deal.

Lodders offers expert legal advice to owner managers and business owners looking to divest, grow and raise finance.

May River Capital is a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on investing in lower middle-market, industrial growth companies. May River Capital invests in high-quality industrial growth businesses, including precision manufacturing, engineered products and instrumentation, specialized industrial services, and value-added industrial distribution services.