Hartshorne Van Services completes Management Buy-Out
The future success of the Midland’s leading supplier of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has been secured following a management buy out (MBO).Hartshorne Van Services Limited (HVS) announces the completion of the final stage of a Management Buy-Out from its parent company, Hartshorne Motor Services Limited, which provides the company with full independence. To complete this independence HVS has been renamed and will now be known as The Walkmill Group Limited.
Ownership of The Walkmill Group, with Volkswagen Van Centres in Birmingham, Bilston and Shrewsbury has been retained within the company following the decision of Hartshorne Motor Services’ shareholder Brian Bachelor to relinquish his stake in the parent company and to make a multi-million pound investment in The Walkmill Group Limited and becoming majority shareholder in this new venture.
Brian Bachelor moved across from the parent company in early 2006 as Managing Director and since this time has fundamentally reshaped the business and established a new senior management team bringing in new skill sets from outside of the motor industry.
On completion of the MBO Brian Bachelor became Group Operations Director and Gilly Granger, previously General Manager became Group Managing Director and a shareholder. This team is completed by Gary Manton who has moved from his post as Financial Controller to become Finance Director.
Brian Bachelor said: “This is an excellent way forward for The Walkmill Group and underlines the company’s determination to remain a major player in the UK’s Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) sector. I am confident that I have created a talented team who will drive the business onward and upwards and together we will lay the foundations for many years of success.”
Gilly Granger added: “With the ownership issues now concluded we have secured control of our own destiny. This removes uncertainty for our employees and it allows us all to focus on delivering the very best service to our customers.”
