Menzies Distribution has completed its second significant acquisition in six months with the takeover of West Lothian's JBT Distribution.
JBT operates 200 vehicles from its headquarters in Bathgate and further depots in Aberdeen, Inverness, East Kilbride, Lerwick and Kirkwall. Sitting alongside Menzies in Motor Transport's Top 100 logistics companies by size, JBT has annual sales of more than £23 million.
Menzies has been gearing up for expansion since it was taken over in September 2018 by private equity group Endless as a "buy and build" project. At the end of last year it acquired Bibby Distribution, a move that was followed by the appointment of distribution heavyweights Andy Clark and Charles Wilson to the board of directors.
Menzies said the deal with cement its position as a major force in UK logistics.
READ MORE: Menzies acquires Bibby arm 'unlocking geographical capability'
“We are gaining momentum at pace as we execute our ambitious strategy for growth and are delighted to acquire JBT," Menzies chief executive Greg Michael said. "We believe that through combining the complementary business with Menzies, there are significant opportunities to grow both businesses through unlocking further geographical capability and expanding services to both sets of customers in Scotland and throughout the UK and Ireland.
"For both our businesses’ customers, it will be very much business as usual and we look forward to supporting their growth in the coming years and working with Robert Gordon, Donald Carmichael and the rest of the team at JBT to help deliver this. We warmly welcome our new colleagues and look forward to the next phase of our journey as an enlarged group.”
READ MORE: Supermarket heavyweight joins Menzies on its distribution drive
JBT provides services across a number of sectors including retail, packaging, parcel home delivery and the healthcare sector, with a notable specialism in temperature controlled logistics).
JBT's Robert Gordon said directors were "delighted" to announce the acquisition.
“We believe that Menzies is aligned with the future strategic and growth plan in the sectors in which we operate and will enhance the service offering of the business both locally and nationally," he said.
"There will be exciting and new opportunities for the staff at JBT, whose dedicated input to the business has taken it to the position it is in today. We wish them all continued success within the larger business group and know they will continue to support the customer base with the same level of dedication that has always been evidenced.”
READ MORE: Former Booker boss joins Menzies
Menzies acquired Bibby, now operating as Menzies Distribution Solutions, in December 2020. The deal added 38 new operating sites and a large, young fleet to the well-established Menzies platform.
The following month, former Asda chief executive Andy Clarke was appointed as non-executive chairman of Menzies. In May of this year, former Booker boss Charles Wilson took a significant stake in the business when he joined as a non-executive director.
“We are delighted to be supporting Menzies Distribution with their second acquisition in six months," said Andrew Ross, partner at Endless.
"This acquisition further accelerates the momentum in our strategy to transform and diversify the operations of this business. We look forward to working with Robert Gordon, Donald Carmichael and the wider JBT team to further grow the business as part of the Menzies group.”
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