Fund-raising marks next chapter for Smarts Plumbing Specialists Limited

Smarts Plumbing Specialists Limited (“Smarts”), a leading Midlands-based provider of plumbing and heating services, has raised a £3.5million term loan to support the next phase of growth and to bring a number of key employees into the ownership of the business. Smarts was advised by Roy Farmer & Harvey Austin of Dains Corporate Finance, with a long-term unsecured loan facilitated by Caple and a working capital facility provided by Close Brothers.

Dated: 08 November 2018 Author: Roy Farmer, Partner

Smarts, based in Heath Hayes, was formed in 1972 by John Smart, and then subsequently acquired by his three sons Alan, Kevin and Chris in 1993.  Smarts installs plumbing and central heating systems into new build residential properties and has developed complementary business streams in the areas of maintenance and boiler servicing.  Smarts has longstanding relationships with all of the major national housebuilders including Barratts, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Redrow and prides itself on providing a quality service and high levels of aftercare, thereby maintaining its excellent reputation in the market.

Managing Director Alan Smart said: “The company was formed over 45 years ago by my father John, and me and my brothers continued to develop the business following dad’s retirement.  We are a fiercely proud family-run business with a strong culture and over the years have built a loyal and experienced team who we regard as our extended family.  I am very excited about the future, and myself and my brothers will continue to drive the business forwards whilst developing the management team and bringing them into the ownership of the business."

"Whilst in recent years we have invested in the business in terms of our head office, people and systems, the funding we have now raised allows us to further invest in the business.  We will continue to expand the business and to grow our experienced team of heating and service engineers in order to capitalise on the significant opportunities we see ahead."

"The team at Dains provided exceptional advice to the company and guided us throughout the entire process.  Their experience and expertise in raising funds was invaluable and ensured that we reached a successful conclusion.”

Lead advisor Roy Farmer from Dains Corporate Finance added: "As a firm our relationship with Smarts goes back over 30 years, and it has been a delight for me to work with Alan, Kevin & Chris on this fund-raising exercise.  The company’s reputation has been built on delivering a consistently high quality service to all of its customers and with the new funding package now in place this allows the business to further grow and develop its people and services.”

Sean Brophy of Caple said: “We were impressed from the outset with the quality of business that Alan, Kevin & Chris have built.  Smarts has an excellent reputation, a great customer base and an impressive track record of growth.  This is exactly the type of business we are looking to back with our offering of long-term, fully unsecured finance to support the company’s growth and succession plans.”

Corporate finance advice was provided by Roy Farmer & Harvey Austin of Dains Corporate Finance and tax advice by David Bradshaw & Caroline Bland of Dains LLP.  Funding was provided by Sean Brophy & Harry Jeffrey of Caple and Ash Middleton of Close Brothers.  Legal advice was provided by Rick Smyth and Sana Ikhlaq of The Wilkes Partnership and Tim Edwards of Thursfields.

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