Brenmark is a leading distributor of fasteners, and other associated products, to the aerospace, automotive, rail and engineering industries in southern England and Wales.  Founded in the UK in 1974, Brenmark has established a pre-eminent position in these sectors.  The company is headquartered in Bristol, with additional operations in Plymouth.  Croma Industrial Supplies, based in Southampton, is a complementary business which also specialises in the supply of mechanical fastenings and specialist adhesives for the manufacturing industry.  The acquisition will expand Croma’s geographical reach to include the South West.  

The deal will allow Brenmark’s owners, Michael Baker and his family, to retire from the business.  Michael will remain with the group on a consultancy basis and Paul Hunt, currently Managing Director of Croma Industrial Supplies, will now become Managing Director of the new group, supported by a small management team.  He has an experienced and loyal management team based in Eastleigh, which will allow him to time to oversee and integrate the business in Bristol.

The funding package provided by Business Finance comprises of confidential invoice discounting and a cash flow facility. 

Commenting on the deal, Andrew Rutherford, GE Commercial Finance, Business Finance Director, said: “Brenmark is long established business that has consistently produced good profits.  It has positioned itself strategically in the marketplace and has evolved impressively into one of the leading manufacturers in its field.  The acquisition offers a great opportunity for Croma to continue its programme of development and expand into a different geographic region.  It was a pleasure to work, once again, with Peter Grinyer and Rosemary Penn-Newman of Fanshawe Lofts to set up this deal and without their involvement it would not have happened.”

Paul Hunt, added: “Brenmark was a perfect fit for us.  Its products have to be supplied the same/next day, hence the synergy with our business and it provides an unequalled level of speed and service to the many varied industries with which it is involved.  In addition, our products can now be cross-sold across the group.  For instance, Brenmark will benefit from the purchases Croma makes from abroad which provides additional stock that customers have been purchasing from other companies   We chose Business Finance and Fanshawe Lofts to help us with this deal because they were able to provide a more flexible facility than anyone else in the market, at a competitive cost.  Andrew Rutherford and his team at Business Finance handled the deal sensitively and efficiently, and structured a package that enabled the acquisition to complete in good time.”

“From the moment we started working with Croma Industrial Supplies, we could see it had lots of potential.  Fanshawe Lofts has now worked with Paul Hunt on the last four purchases he’s been involved in and the acquisition of Brenmark is yet another success for the company.  In this particular deal, we needed a finance provider that could work alongside us, understand what the company was trying to do and provide it with a real opportunity to take the business forward in a specific timescale – Business Finance fits that bill easily,” concluded Peter Grinyer of Fanshawe Lofts.