Millbrook Group, the UK’s primary testing ground for vehicles, parts and tyres has been acquired by Spectris PLC for a reported £122m.
The acquisition means that Spectris, a company involved in metering and measurement equipment, can look to providing Millbrook with modern hardware and software suitable for testing components and systems that will be fitted to coming generations of hybrid and electric vehicles.
The deal also includes a subsidiary business called Test World. This operation is based in Finland and specialises in testing snow tyres and winter products in the Arctic Circle.
Under the previous ownership of private equity group Rutland Partners, Millbrook has seen its stock rise over the past few years. Rutland acquired the facility from General Motors in 2013 and introduced a new senior management team lead by CEO Alex Burns with an eight-fold increase in underlying earnings following a £20m investment. Burns and his team will remain in place under the new owner.
Eoghan O’Lionaird, Business Group Director at Spectris, said: “Millbrook represents our largest purchase to date of a pure testing services business. It is closely related to our existing instrumentation businesses and, as such, the acquisition is an important step forward.”
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