Delamode’s holding company acquires Benfleet Forwarding

Xpediator Plc, Delamode’s holding company, has completed the acquisition of UK-based Benfleet Forwarding Limited. The company, headquartered in Basildon, England, is an international freight forwarding business established in 1987, specialising in the movement of flooring, machinery, household goods and garments.

Benfleet’s highly experienced management team, operates an asset-light operation that includes road transport and ocean freight shipments, coordinated through offices in Dover and Felixstowe, with services extending across Southern Europe to Italy, Greece, Portugal and Turkey, as well as the Far East and China. In 2015, Benfleet secured a significant Chinese customer with which it entered into a six-year contract and which Xpediator believes could result in further cross-selling opportunities.

Acquisition highlights:

• Benfleet is a complementary acquisition with immediate cross-selling opportunities and potential cost synergies.
• Benfleet generated revenue of GBP 21.0 million (EUR 23.7 million), operating profit of £1.73m and profit after tax of £1.35m during the year ended 31 March 2017 (“FY17”).
• Benfleet operates across Europe, with offices in Dover, Basildon and Chelmsford in the UK, Trento in Italy and Ploiesti in Romania.
• As stated at the time of Xpediator’s IPO in August this year, a key reason for Xpediator listing on AIM was to facilitate the Company’s M&A strategy in the highly fragmented freight forwarding and logistics market. Benfleet was identified as an acquisition opportunity prior to the Company’s IPO given the natural fit between the two businesses offering attractive synergies and cross-selling opportunities.

Potential Acquisition Benefits:

• Offers an established presence in countries outside Xpediator’s core European regions, in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Portugal.
• Port offices in Dover and Felixstowe are well placed to facilitate future customs clearance activity in the event of a hard border post Brexit.
• Leverage further opportunities around Benfleet’s six-year contract signed with significant Chinese customer.
• Similar services offered across different geographies provides opportunity for cost-synergies through increased group buying such as haulier procurement.
• Benfleet’s current sea freight activity will strengthen the Group’s existing service offerings.
• Minimum integration costs, the business will continue to operate under the Benfleet brand.
• Benfleet will continue to be led by Jason Herring and will retain a high degree of autonomy whilst benefiting from the synergies of being part of a larger Group.

www.benfleet.org; www.delamode-group.com