Stobart’s £138m merger deal could create 1,000 jobs bonanza

Aug 16 2007 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

UP TO 1,000 new jobs could be created in Widnes after a £138m merger between cult road haulage firm Eddie Stobart and property and ports firm Westbury.

The new Stobart Group will combine Warrington-based Eddie Stobart, famous for its fleet of red and green lorries, with Westbury’s growing ports and logistics business that includes Weston Point Docks, at Runcorn.

The Westbury acquisition gives the Stobart Group a stock market listing with a market capitalisation around £250m.

The new Stobart Group is also buying Widnes-based freight hand-ling firm O’Connor, which owns a rail freight depot in the town, for £23m. Westbury and O’Connor are already working together on plans to create an £80m road-rail freight interchange at Widnes.

The group wants to build 1m sq ft of new warehousing at Widnes and said that could create up to 1,000 new jobs within 18 months.

Westbury investment manager Richard Burrell said: “This is a fantastic deal for the North West. Talks with Halton Borough Council have already commenced.

“Eddie Stobart is a first-class business in its own right and with Westbury’s deep sea, inland water-way, rail and storage businesses, we believe we have the makings of a compelling multi-modal logistics business which will bring valuable benefits to customers and shareholders.”

The planned road-rail freight ter-minal at Widnes, the Mersey Multi-modal Gateway, has been under discussion for some time, with O’Connor and Halton Borough Council among its key partners.

In March this year, Westbury bought distribution specialist AHC, which owned land adjacent to O’Connor’s property in Widnes. That deal was part of Westbury’s long-term strategy for the site, that culminated in yesterday’s merger announcement. Together, the AHC and O’Connor land total 143 acres. Westbury bought Weston Point in Runcorn from British Waterways in April for £10m. Last year it announced plans for an investment of about £20m to transform the site into an intermodal hub.

Under the group’s new plans, freight unloaded at Weston Point could either be put straight on to the National Rail network or taken by rail to Widnes to be put on Eddie Stobart lorries.

Eddie Stobart managing director William Stobart – the son of original founder Eddie – said: “We believe the face of transport is changing as customers look for more efficient and carbon-friendly solutions. There is a huge potential for companies who can respond to this demand and offer a fully-integrated transport solution.

“A key part of the strategy of the enlarged business will be to invest in the new port at Runcorn and maximise development opportun-ities at Widnes to create an inter-modal port facility with road, rail and deep sea and inland waterway access capable of handling signifi-cant cargo volumes, linked to the haulage network.”

alistairhoughton