News

Eddie Stobart is to merge with property and ports group Westbury Property Fund in a reverse takeover deal. The development will see the creation of Stobart Group Limited and means the nation's best known haulier will launch on the London Stock Exchange in September, when the merger is expected to complete after a vote by Westbury's shareholders.

Stobart chairman Andrew Tinkler and managing director William Stobart will remain with the firm as chief executive officer and chief operating  officer respectively. It's no secret that Eddie Stobart has been looking for investment and Tinkler says the two parties were introduced by Royal Bank of Scotland. "It was a great deal to come along and although not part of the process at the time, it was a really great fit."

Effectively Eddie Stobart has been bought by Guernsey-based Westbury for £138m, and in turn it has sold its complete £142m property portfolio to Stobart parent WA Developments which exits the business. Additionally Stobart Group has bought Widnes-based container haulage and storage business O'Connor Group for £23m.

"It really gives our customers the full intermodal package and it's a great environmental benefit taking freight off the road," Tinkler says. He denies that the firm's intermodal operations will be located too far from the traditional area of demand in the South-east. He says that the firm will look to develop the Westbury-owned Port of Weston in Runcorn, Cheshire as a inter-modal facility  in a five-year regeneration project in order to take feeder ships from other ports.

"If containers can come [from the south] by feeder ships it will help congestion and will be a cheaper option for our customer," he adds. And Tinkler says that while the initial multi-modal model is North-west centric, the new group will "be looking to roll it out in other areas". The seemingly drastic change of course for Stobart does not faze Tinkler, who says a move to multi-modal logistics can only strengthen the brand. The group is already looking to develop its rail link between Daventry and Grangemouth with new routes and the added advantage of Westbury-owned rail service Victor Westlink. "It's all about reducing empty miles," Tinkler says.