Fox Brothers Holdings Group acquired by Stellex Capital Management

A Blackpool-headquartered family haulage, plant hire and aggregate group is set to be acquired by an affiliate of a middle-market private equity firm, Stellex Capital Management.

The Fox Group is in its fourth generation of family leadership and has been in operation since 1932.

It provides services to the construction and infrastructure industry across the UK, including muck-away, haulage of aggregates, production of recycled aggregates, waste recycling, quarry operations and ready-mix concrete production.

The Fox Group 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 Limited and JJ O’Grady.

As part of this transaction, the company will also merge with J A Jackson, a well-known quarry operator and producer of recycled aggregates and ready mixed concrete.

This strategic integration will generate synergies between all parts of the business.

Paul Fox, CEO and current majority owner of Fox Brothers Holdings Group said: "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.”

A key focus of our investment will be to further integrate the company to transform Fox Brothers Holdings Group into a fully integrated, circular economy construction materials solutions business, able to help decarbonise the construction materials supply chain.

Mark Redman, managing partner at Stellex said: “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.”

The firm also welcomes to the board of directors Mark Joel as company chair and Andy Swinnerton as chief operating officer.

Mark and Andy are seasoned industry veterans, with previous experience at industry-leading companies including CRH / Tarmac and Holcim / Aggregates Industries, respectively.

Mark and Andy added: “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.”

Davis Polk and A&O Shearman served as the legal counsels for Stellex.

Hill Dickinson served as the legal counsel for the company on the transaction.

Grant Thornton UK LLP advised the company on the sale.

The Fox Group has 12 sites and depots and has 550 employees and was a winner of the Corporate Social Responsibility award at the  Red Rose Awards in 2022.

At the end of last year, turnover at the Fox Group was £150m and it has grown organically and through a buy to build strategy.

Lancashire Business View spoke to Paul Fox in a special interview in the magazine find out more here.