Sentio Partners has advised textile manufacturer Camira Group, which manufactures 9 million metres of fabric a year for commercial interiors and public transport, on their acquisition of Holmfirth Dyers Ltd in a move to further strengthen and extend its vertical supply chain into fabric dyeing and specialist finishing.
Mirfield headquartered Camira Group, which manufactures woollen spun yarns and woven fabrics across three sites in Huddersfield and one in Lithuania, acquired the Holmfirth based dyer and finisher from the Duckett family for an undisclosed sum. Last summer Holmfirth Dyers suffered a fire which destroyed part of the Dunford Road premises and some equipment, but the business continued to operate and has been fully restored.
Camira’s globally successful business model is based on end-to-end expertise in the textile supply chain, from yarn to fabric and all the processes in between, which delivers short leadtimes to furniture customers as well as improved quality and environmental stewardship. The acquisition of Holmfirth Dyers strengthens the company’s proposition and shows its ambition to expand its portfolio of piece-dyed wool and polyester fabrics which are popular in both the UK and in major global markets.
Camira has been a long-standing customer since Holmfirth Dyers was established in 1987, with its business growing substantially to account for around 85% of Holmfirth Dyers’ £7 million turnover. Holmfirth Dyers was founded by Brian Duckett and will continue to operate under the same name serving its existing customer base, with Brian and his son Martin both being retained by the business. The acquisition sees Camira Group’s total turnover exceed £100 million per annum.
Camira Chief Executive, Grant Russell, made the following statement: “We’re absolutely delighted to have been able to strengthen our position and deepen our expertise in the textile supply chain. We’ve developed a strong partnership with Holmfirth Dyers over the years, including setting up a joint venture with the Duckett family at Park Valley Dyers, and we worked even more closely together following last year’s fire to ensure continuity of supply and service levels to our global customers. We will now be able to use this facility to further innovate in dyeing and finishing techniques to make our product portfolio even more appealing to global customers.”
Martin Duckett added: “We’ve grown together with Camira, and as they became our largest customer by far, it became a natural progression for Camira to take ownership and take the business forward into the next phase of its commercial development. Camira has an outstanding track record of growing into new markets and geographies and we’re very comfortable that Holmfirth Dyers and all our employees and our customers are in extremely safe hands.”
Camira Group was advised by Andy Miller at Sentio, with John Hamer and Oliver Duke of Walker Morris providing legal advice.
