ACE WINCHES acquired by ASHTEAD TECHNOLOGY

Ashtead Technology announced on 30 November 2023 the acquisition of the entire share capital of Rathmay, the parent company of ACE Winches, from its founders Alfie and Valerie Cheyne, for a total cash consideration of on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The purchase was funded by drawing on the group’s revolving credit facility and was expected to add materially to earnings from 2024, with return on invested capital well ahead of the weighted average cost of capital in the first year. ACE Winches was expected to generate revenue of and an adjusted EBITDA of for the twelve months to December 2023, an EBITDA margin of , and an EV/EBITDA multiple of , with adjusted EBITA of £10.0 million and gross assets of £55.7 million at 31 March 2023. Nearly 80% of its revenue came from outside the United Kingdom, supported by operations in Norway and sales offices in the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The business joined Ashtead Technology’s enlarged Mechanical Solutions offering, a priority area for acquisitions. Gary Wilson, chief commercial officer of ACE Winches, took charge of day-to-day operations reporting to Ashtead Technology management, while founder Alfie Cheyne stayed on as an adviser for twelve months to support the handover and integration. Chief executive Allan Pirie said ACE Winches had an exceptional reputation in lifting, pulling and deployment solutions, and that although it mainly served oil and gas customers, there was significant scope to redeploy its equipment in offshore renewables and to expand internationally. It was the group’s eighth acquisition in six years, after WeSubsea and Hiretech in 2022. Pro-forma leverage for the enlarged group was expected to be below 1.4 times at the end of 2023, falling under 1 time by December 2024.

By taking control of Ace Winches, Ashtead Technology continues its expansion strategy. Previously, the group had completed 3 acquisitions, including Underwater Cutting Solutions in 2019.