IWS Group secures LDC investment to support acquisitive growth plans

Arrowpoint Advisory’s Industrials team has advised international warehouse safety, impact protection and storage equipment provider IWS Group on securing a significant minority investment from LDC, to support its continued buy and build strategy.

IWS Group provides essential products and services to the global warehousing, logistics and material handling sectors. Through its growing family of companies, IWS Group provides its customers with a one-stop solution to make their sites safer, more efficient and environmentally sustainable.

The Group has a global customer base across multiple channels including operators, contractors, system integrators and resellers. In the UK alone, the number of business premises used for transport, logistics and warehousing in the UK has almost doubled in the last decade. With the on-going rise of e-commerce, the requirement for warehousing solutions is set to continue further in the UK and across international markets.

LDC will back the existing management team, led by CEO Jeroen van den Berge and Director Tim Lacey to continue its acquisitive growth strategy, having made four acquisitions in the last four years. The business is looking to acquire complementary businesses that expand its range of products and services and enhance its international footprint, particularly in Europe. IWS Group will also continue to invest in organic new product development, building on the strength and success of its innovative product brand portfolio, which includes racksack®, a market-leading range of space-saving waste sacks which gives businesses a simple and cost-effective solution to segregate waste and Rack Armour®, the original pallet racking upright protection guard.

Jeroen van den Berge, CEO and co-founder of IWS Group, said: “Safety, efficiency and sustainability have never been more important to our customers. We have grown significantly by bringing businesses into the Group that help us to build on our credentials as a full-service provider to industrial workplaces.

“LDC is the perfect partner to help us accelerate this strategy while remaining in the driving seat of the business. Matt, Chris and Karen at LDC have years of experience helping management teams like us to expand through acquisition. We are looking forward to welcoming more businesses into the IWS family with LDC’s support.”

Matt Newbold, Investment Director at LDC in the Midlands, added: “The IWS Group is a market leading provider of through-life services to the growing and evolving industrial workspace market, supporting their customers with solutions focused on safety and efficiency. The continued strength of the UK and European logistics & warehousing sector is a strong market driver, with operators increasingly focused on bespoke-designed, energy efficient solutions to meet the long-term structural growth of this market, which IWS is well-placed to support.

“We’re excited to support the team at IWS Group to pursue their organic, M&A and international growth plans.”

Jeroen van den Berge, went on to add: “Thanks as well to the Arrowpoint Advisory team, they were a great partner as we sought to secure the right investor and the best funding structure to support our ambition. They balanced solid advice and insight with the commitment and sense of urgency we needed.”

Graham Carberry, Managing Director at Arrowpoint Advisory, concluded: “IWS is a business with incredible potential. It’s remarkable what Jeroen and Tim have built in the last few years, but the future is even more exciting.  They are providing a customer-centric approach that the UK and European market is desperate for and LDC’s backing will allow them and their team to move IWS to a whole new level.”

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