YARMOUTH OFFSHORE FABRICATORS ACQUIRED IN DEAL WHICH SECURES JOBS IN THE TOWN

Up to 20 jobs in Great Yarmouth have been secured with the acquisition of engineering, fabricating and welding business CAP Fabrications by Hydramec Offshore Hydraulic Systems Ltd.

CAP, based on the town’s Harfreys Industrial Estate, has been run by Roberta Perry since the death of her husband, company founder Steve Perry, in 2010.  Now the firm has been sold to Hydramec, also based at Harfreys, in a deal brokered by the Corporate Finance team at Lovewell Blake.

The move means that all 17 jobs at CAP have been secured, and the business will continue to operate from its current base.

“We are delighted to have concluded this deal, which brings together two complementary offshore engineering businesses which share a very similar culture,” said Hydramec managing director Danny Church.  “The acquisition strengthens our capacity, and reinforces Hyrdamec as a major player in the offshore engineering and fabrication business.”

After the deal was concluded, CAP’s Roberta Perry commented, “I am pleased that the business that my late husband and I built up is to move into the future in such safe hands.  Danny shares many of the values that Steve and I brought to CAP, and I am delighted for all of our loyal staff that their futures have been secured with this deal.”

Hydramec was founded in 1990, and last year moved into new 20,000 sq ft premises, doubling its internal workshop space and adding half an acre of outside storage.  The company designs Launch And Recovery Systems (LARS) for use in the offshore industry, as well as offering a repair service for hydraulic equipment on board marine vessels, machining, fabrication and computer-aided design.  The firm employs 26 people in the town.

The deal to buy CAP Fabrications was brokered by Matt Crawley of Lovewell Blake’s Corporate Finance team, based at the firm’s Great Yarmouth office.  He said, “With the offshore sector being so vital to the prosperity of Great Yarmouth, it is good to bring together two of the town’s specialist companies, and to conclude a deal which secures the employment of so many people locally.  Hydramec is a longstanding client, whom we have helped on a number of projects, including helping to secure grant funding to enable the company to acquire its new premises in 2015.”