Two entrepreneurs have undertaken a management buy-in at Gainsborough-based GIC, a specialist manufacturer of vertical form/fill/seal equipment, using six-figure funding from Bank of Scotland Corporate.
The MBO has been led by former applications manager Andy Beal, who becomes md, and entrepreneur Luke Murphy, who has a track record of investing in small-to-medium- sized enterprises and implementing growth strategies. The buy-out follows the recent retirement of founder and previous owner Stewart Wordsworth, who ran the business for 20 years. Murphy and Beal say they hope to grow the business by focussing on their core offer of packaging technology while simultaneously seeking new markets. The business, which supplies machinery to handle goods including snackfoods, confectionery, fresh and frozen foods, pulses and powders and liquids and semi-viscose products, has a staff of 12 and a turnover of £2m.
Beal says: “Having worked closely with both customers and engineers at GIC over the past six years I have seen the company grow on the back of its quality and service. The new team is very well-balanced between good technical and industry knowledge and the commercial know-how of running private businesses.”
GIC md Andy Beal, Stephen Hanson, Bank of Scotland, and GIC director Luke Murphy final