Law firm Higgs & Sons has advised commercial vehicle bodybuilder, JC Payne (UK) Limited on its purchase out of administration of the business and assets of Aire Body Care for an undisclosed sum.
Aire Body Care, formerly based in Witton, Birmingham, is one of the UK’s leading truck body and tail lift repair service companies and turned over in excess of £2 million last year.
Commercial vehicle bodybuilder JC Payne is based in Aldridge and has been trading since 1921. Its purchase of Aire Body Care will enable the company to offer a nationwide repair and maintenance service alongside its own, successful manufacturing business.
Aire Body Care has struggled recently in the face of strong competition and senior employee turnover. The purchase by JC Payne will secure the employment of all of the existing Aire Body Care nationwide engineers and small office team.
Neil Brandrick, JC Payne’s legal director, said of the deal: “We are delighted to have completed this acquisition and are grateful for the responsive advice and support provided by Higgs in the process.
“We will now be able to offer a nationwide aftersales service alongside the provision of our high quality bodies. We believe that the synergies and support the businesses can offer each other will enable the aftersales team to quickly reaffirm its reputation as providing a quality service both on the road and from the office. This is a very exciting time for the development of the business.”
The Higgs team was led by corporate partner, Richard Griffiths, who said: “We are delighted to have assisted JC Payne with this transaction and are looking forward to working alongside the team to help achieve its ambitious future growth plans for the business.”
Higgs was recently named Corporate Law Firm of the Year at the Midlands Insider Deal Makers event and in the first quarter of 2014 the firm was ranked as fourth most active law firm for corporate deals in the region according to Experian’s latest report.
Higgs & Sons is headquartered at the Waterfront Business Park in Brierley Hill. The firm employs more than 200 people, which includes over 100 specialist lawyers.
For specialist advice on all aspects of corporate law including mergers and acquisitions, call Richard on 0845 111 5050 or email richard.griffiths@higgsandsons.co.uk.