Ex Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey is selling Pall-Ex – the European haulage giant she launched more than two decades ago.
The company’s founder, owner and chairwoman, who first gained national celebrity on TV’s Secret Millionaire, has struck a deal to sell the business to its network members and management team.
The £85 million turnover business, which is headquartered at Ellistown, near Coalville, Leicestershire, runs networks in eight European countries, operating in 26 nations all together.
The sale price has not been revealed. Contracts were signed on October 15, with completion anticipated for October 31.
It employs around 400 people directly in the UK, while its wider network supports around 8,000 jobs. The business turned a profit of around £2.5 million last year.
Ms Devey, who started Pall-Ex in 1996, has decided to step away from the day-to-day running, but will continue in an ambassadorial role to help develop its international services.
The group uses its members to move pallets for one another. Most of its UK freight passes through its central Leicestershire hub, and it has similar hub and spoke operations in its member countries.
Group managing director Kevin Buchanan – who becomes the biggest individual shareholder – said ownership will be split 30-70 between the board and its 50-or-so member companies, which are mostly in the UK.
He said floating the business on the Stock Exchange had not been seen as a option, but felt that – if shareholders wanted to – it could be considered further down the line.
He said: “It’s not been an easy decision for Hilary to let it go, but it’s the right time for it to happen.
“I think she’s been doing this for 25 years and I think she feels this solution is the best way to complete her legacy. Effectively this enables us to secure the company’s long-term future.
“We looked at going to the market and getting venture capitalists to back us, but there is a lot of that in the sector, and that kind of disenfranchises the membership. We have tried to create something where members and partners work in partnership.
“Traditionally hubs have done really well and the members have the hard part to do. We compete for those members and this gives them the incentive to be in Pall-Ex.
“Doing what is right for our shareholders creates a balanced way of looking at things.”
He said Brexit was not a big concern for Pall-Ex as only a small proportion of its business was between the UK and Europe. Most was either within the UK and EU countries or between mainland European countries.
Asked about the possibility of floating the business, he said: “We won’t rule that out for the future but that will be a shareholder decision.
“The way it is structured is for shareholders to own it for the foreseeable future and then the company will be better structured for floating.”
Pall-Ex has gone from moving less than 100 pallets on its first night to more than 30,000 daily throughout Europe.
David Fairbrother of ADD Express Limited, Maggie Larimore of PMB Pallets Limited and Craig Stevens of STD Developments Limited – who have all worked with Hilary Devey for more than 20 years – negotiated the transaction alongside Kevin Buchanan, whose title will change to chief executive.
Maggie Larimore said: “Hilary has been a driving force in the development of pallet distribution and has turned the Pall-Ex name into an industry-leading International brand.
“This purchase is the perfect way to preserve the legacy she has built.”
