Blackpool family-owned haulage, plant hire and aggregate group set to be bought out

Fox Brothers Holdings Group, which has been in operation since 1932, is set to be acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Stellex Capital Management. 

The company provides services to the construction and infrastructure industry across the UK from 12 sites, including muck-away, haulage of aggregates, production of recycled aggregates, waste recycling, quarry operations and ready-mix concrete production. Over the past 92 years, the company has expanded geographically - and extended its operations beyond haulage and muck-away into a more integrated construction materials provider as a result of several acquisitions in recent years, including Hurt Ltd and JJ O’Grady.

Stellex has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the majority capital of Fox Brothers Holdings Group from existing shareholders and managers. As part of this transaction, Fox Brothers Holdings Group will also merge with Preston-based J A Jackson, a well-known quarry operator and producer of recycled aggregates and ready mixed concrete.

Existing shareholders are reinvesting with Paul Fox to remain as chief executive. Fox Brothers also welcomes to the board of directors Mark Joel as company chair and Andy Swinnerton as chief operating officer.

Paul Fox, chief executive and current majority owner of Fox Brothers Holdings Group, said: "We are delighted to welcome Stellex, Mark, and Andy to our group. This is an extremely exciting time for the company and with their help and the integration of J A Jackson, we are now in a position to transform the company into a fully integrated circular construction materials business, delivering sustainable solutions to the construction industry.”

Mark and Andy said: “We are looking forward to working with Paul and Andy Duckett, managing director and owner of J A Jackson, to assist them in their growth and continued transformation of the company into a leading, vertically integrated, circular economy construction material business. We have a clearly identified plan, which involves both organic and inorganic growth, which we will pursue in the coming months and we are excited about the opportunity."

Mark Redman, managing partner at Stellex, added: "We see strong potential in the company’s capabilities and resources and look forward to working together with management and our operators to deliver on our value creation plan.

"This acquisition aligns with our strategy to identify companies where we believe we can introduce operational expertise in an effort to drive growth and better leverage companies’ assets and resources.”