UK haulage company acquires rival firm

The owner of the famous Eddie Stobart haulage firm today unveiled a trio of deals as the expansion of the group gathered pace.

Stobart – formed by a merger between ports group Westbury and Eddie Stobart last year – is to buy rival transport firm Irlam for £59.9m (€78.5m) and pay £10m (€13.1m) for engineering specialist WA Developments.

It has also bought an option to acquire Carlisle airport and is seeking planning permission to build a new logistics base on a 460-acre site owned by the company – as well as using the airport for a potential expansion into air freight.

Eddie Stobart currently operates from six sites around Carlisle, but plans to consolidate these operations onto a single purpose-built location. The group says no job losses will occur as a result of the move.

And the deal for family-owned rival Irlam also brings in blue-chip customers including Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola, Britvic, Tesco and Johnson & Johnson.

Chelford in Cheshire-based Irlam’s 263 trucks will not be rebranded in the famous green Eddie Stobart livery that inspired an official spotters’ club, instead keeping their distinctive red colour.

WA Developments is owned by Andrew Tinkler and William Stobart, the chief executive and operating officers of Eddie Stobart. The duo’s WAD Holdings also owns Carlisle airport.

WA Developments was advising Stobart on the development of ports projects in Widnes and Runcorn and the company has decided to bring WA’s expertise in-house after its value was assessed by an independent auditor.