A NATIONALLY renowned Chelford haulage firm is set to be bought out by iconic rival Eddie Stobart for nearly £60million.
Fifty years after they began transporting milk churns to Manchester dairies and returning with farm supplies, James Irlam & Sons is to be swallowed up by their main competitor in a £59.9m deal.
Bosses have heralded the move as a "new chapter" and promise no jobs will be lost in the union – which will form a formidable team of 1,300 vehicles with a turnover of about £350m.
James Irlam, who died aged 73 in January, started the business in 1964 and built it up to be one of the country’s largest independently owned haulage and logistics companies in the UK, with a fleet of 263 trucks and 674 staff.
His son David, chief executive of the family-owned business – which has an annual turnover of over £50m a year, and last year made a pre-tax profit of £1.2m – is set to join Stobart Group’s board as a director.
His brothers, Michael and Stewart Irlam, will stay on in their current positions as managing director and financial director.
David, who joined the firm in 1980, said: "I spoke to my father before he died and he said that if we felt it was for the good of the business, staff and customers, just do it – so we did.
"We have worked with the Stobart Group for many years and we share a couple of the big customers.
"That’s how we formed an alliance and it developed from there."
David – who, along with his brothers, will recieve £36.2m in cash, plus £10m in shares and £13.7m in loan notes – added: "We want to make sure that our employees have opportunities for going forward. It’s a new chapter; we are just as fired up now as we have ever been and James Irlam is still going to be a organisational brand."
The offical spotters’ club of Irlam’s 263 trucks will be relieved to hear their vehicles will not be rebranded in the Eddie Stobart livery and are set to keep their distinctive red colour.
Rodney Baker-Bates, Stobart Group chairman, said: "James Irlam & Sons is a company with a strong track record for solid delivery and first-class customer service, with an operating ethos very similar to that of Eddie Stobart.
"The board is pleased to welcome David Irlam as executive director and is confident that his experience will be valuable in helping the company deliver sustainable growth."
Final approval for the deal will be sought from Stobart shareholders.
The firm’s customers include Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Tesco, Britvic and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition to its headquarters in Chelford, on Knutsford Road, the business has sites in Trafford Park, Stoke, West Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Essex.
