Ashtons Legal and Lovewell Blake advise on £4.5 million transaction

Ashtons Legal has worked with Lovewell Blake’s Corporate Finance team to facilitate a £4.5 million deal which will see Norfolk and Suffolk-based occupational health specialist firm Wrightway Health become part of specialist safety and regulatory compliance services group Marlowe plc.

Lovewell Blake and Ashtons Legal worked together to close the deal, which will see an initial cash consideration of £3.5 million paid for the firm, with an expected contingent cash earn-out of £1 million.

Wrightway, which has its head office in Norwich, was established in 2013 and provides occupational health services to businesses in the east and southeast of England.

The firm has been bought by Marlowe plc, a UK leader in specialist services assuring safety and regulatory compliance, which currently provides services to over 15 per cent of Britain’s commercial premises.

Alison Mackway, managing director of Wrightway Health, said, “It’s been a fantastic journey developing and growing Wrightway Health.  We have a great team around us, and we see this acquisition as an exciting opportunity for all of them as well as ourselves.

“Preparing for this we have worked with teams at local firms Lovewell Blake and Ashtons Legal, both of whom have been incredibly professional and hugely supportive.   Marlowe has some ambitious plans that will be exciting to be a part of moving forward.”

David Sloman, who headed the Ashtons Legal team advising the sellers, commented: “We are delighted to have been supporting the team at Wrightway as they have grown their business and prepared it for sale.  This is an exciting time for all involved and the fact that the deal has come smoothly to fruition in spite of the ongoing turbulence in the economy is testament to all parties.”

Other Ashtons team members involved in the transaction were James Tarling (Corporate), Colin Makin and Emily Dixon (Employment), and Victoria Harnett (Property and Environmental).

Matt Crawley, corporate finance partner at Lovewell Blake, said, “This is a strong vote of confidence in a successful East Anglian company which has proved to be an attractive prospect for one of the UK’s leading players in the safety and regulatory compliance field.

“We are delighted to have helped maximise the value for Wrightway’s owners, as well as securing a strong future for the firm.”