Wolviston £50m target after deal
STOCKTON-BASED Wolviston Group has revealed plans to hit £50m turnover in three years after buying another Teesside recruitment firm in a deal worth up to £5m.
The acquisition of Manning Ltd will boost combined revenues to an expected £35m this year and create around 15-20 new jobs.
All staff at Manning are being retained as the enlarged group looks to relocate to new premises on Teesside, open up an office in the Netherlands and start a joint venture in Kazakhstan.
Managing director Robin Davison said Manning was a “good fit” with Wolviston’s existing operations and that Teesside would be the main focus of the group’s expansion plans.
Like Wolviston, Manning operates in the petrochemical and oil and gas sectors but also supplies temporary and permanent staff to carry out shutdown work on engineering plants.
Mr Davison said: “Manning’s overhaul and shutdown expertise and recruitment for the offshore and automotive industries augments our current group capabilities. It gives us even firmer foundations to further develop the group and grow the business.
“We have exceeded our growth targets and in the last four years we’ve increased turnover from £17m to £28m. One Northeast and Tees Valley Regeneration are both very keen to see us expand in the area.”
Wolviston is seeking funding from One NorthEast for around 20% of the cost of either relocating or securing a new build with capacity for up to 50 staff. The group’s operations could be amalgamated under the same roof at one site.
Mr Davison said a funding decision is expected by mid-November and that Wolviston - a major supplier of staff to Sabic, Huntsman and Ensus - was looking to keep its headquarters on Teesside.
The group is one of the UK’s largest technical employment agencies for the recruitment of temporary and permanent staff in the oil and gas, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries.
Since its formation as Wolviston Management Services in 1981, it has expanded rapidly and secured international contracts in Aberdeen, Holland, Gabon, Libya and Sakhalin Island.
Manning’s recruitment manager, Bob Fisher, who has worked for the firm for 17 years, said he was delighted join “a major Tees Valley employer with ambitious growth plans”.
“We are a niche agency with a good synergy with Wolviston,” he said. “They have given us every indication that we will continue to run the business as we have done previously.”
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