Castle is pleased to announce the acquisition of Air Management Systems (Holdings) Limited by Laboratoires PROTEC SA (France)

Castle Corporate Finance Limited (Castle) acted for the shareholders of Air Management Systems (Holdings) Limited (AMS) in the sale of their shares to Protec, the leading French environmental protection group.

AMS manufactures and distributes equipment and consumables essential to the asbestos removal industry.

Based in Tonbridge, AMS has branches in Thurrock, Wigan, Bristol and Birmingham with subsidiaries in Holland/Belgium and France.  With annual sales of c. £16m and 85 staff, AMS is a leading player in this specialist sector.

AMS and Protec have known each other via mutual European trading interests for some years. The proposed merger terms were negotiated and agreed in February 2016 and the transaction completed in July.

Shareholder and AMS founder, Rob Steele, commented: ‘’I have known Mike Norrie at Castle from the earliest days of AMS and he was my immediate choice to structure and perfect a deal.  Being a cross border transaction with all the usual language, cultural and legal challenges, it was always going to be complicated. Mike and his team helped me navigate the process and potential pitfalls. Castle ensured the momentum was maintained throughout.  I was particularly impressed with the way Castle became the critical link between all parties: principals, legal teams, tax advisers and accountants, ensuring clear lines of contact and understanding.  An essential role in this deal.’’

Mike Norrie, Castle, added: ‘’This has been an interesting transaction where the various deal complexities were minimised by the mutual integrity and goodwill shown by AMS and Protec.  The Referendum landing in the middle of the completion cycle added an extra dimension too!

We wish all at AMS and Protec every success for their future together’’.