FRP Advisory advises The Vella Group on double acquisition

The M&A team of FRP Advisory has announced the successful close of two of its sale mandates, both for automotive player The Vella Group.

Established over 40 years ago, The Vella Group is an automotive repair provider with repair centres in Deeside and Chester, serving North Wales, South West and East Midlands.

Backed by private equity firms Ama Capital and Keyhaven Capital Partners, The Vella Group has the ambition to grow organically and inorganically, with two deals now taking the group to 20 sites across England and Wales.

The acquisition of UK Carbody adds repair centres in Avonmouth and Bristol, while the bolt-on of GB Flint Coachworks adds repair centres in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester.

Marc Holding, CEO at The Vella Group, commented: “Both UK Carbody and GB Flint Coachworks are great businesses with strong reputations and experienced teams, and their addition strengthens our presence in two important regions as we continue to grow across the United Kingdom.”

Both deals were advised on the buy-side by FRP Corporate Finance, a business of FRP Advisory. The transaction was led by its Cardiff team, overseen by partner Thomas Edwards and manager Alexander Griffiths. The team led negotiations on each offer, project managed the due diligence workstreams and provided commercial input throughout the legal negotiations, helping The Vella Group to secure the best possible outcome on both deals.

“The acquisitions of UK Carbody and GB Flint Coachworks represent another important step in The Vella Group’s exciting growth journey. By strengthening its national presence, the group continues to build a leading platform in the UK accident repair sector,” said Edwards.

The transactions mark the latest chapter in FRP Corporate Finance’s ongoing relationship with The Vella Group, having previously advised the management team on its private equity-backed buyout and supported the business in securing an acquisition finance and growth package to fund its expansion strategy.

Edwards: “We’ve now advised The Vella Group across multiple transactions from our Cardiff base, and we look forward to supporting the next phase of its buy-and-build strategy.”

Last week, FRP Advisory was named among the UK’s leading M&A consultancies in an industry-wide benchmark.