Firm set up in 1889 to be snapped up by gas supplier Regent run by long-time investor Deep Valecha
More than 130 years of independence will come to an end later this summer when listed £500m turnover M&E specialist T Clarke is bought by gas supplier Regent.
The firm, which was set up in 1889 by Thomas Clarke and helped electrify Royal buildings including Windsor Castle and St James’s Palace, said this morning it was recommending shareholders accept an offer of £90.5m from Regent to buy the business.
In a statement announcing the move, T Clarke said the deal is expected to be wrapped up by the start of the third quarter this year meaning it could delist from the Stock Exchange and be taken private in July.
T Clarke, which has its corporate head office in the Gherkin in the City of London, employs around 1,200 people and in this morning’s announcement Regent said it was not looking to close any of T Clarke’s 19 offices and that the business will continue to be led by the current management team, headed by chief executive Mark Lawrence.
The firm’s new owner is headed by Deep Valecha who set up Regent in 1995 and last year was listed at number 343 on the Sunday Times Rich List with his and his family’s worth put at £364m.
Based in Park Royal, Regent supplies gas and metering services to industrial and commercial customers across the UK.
Valecha has been investing in T Clarke for the past six years and has built up a 20% stake in the firm and last year helped with an initiative to raise funds for the business.
Valecha, who will become a non-executive director once the deal is completed, said: “Given our admiration for T Clarke, as part of our plans, we would like T Clarke to continue its business in the manner in which it has been conducted. We will support the management team in their ambitions to strengthen the balance sheet and continue to grow the business.”
The firm is expected to benefit from the financial muscle of its new owner, especially in the burgeoning data centre sector which can tie up resource.
Lawrence added: “This new chapter in our journey opens doors to explore bold initiatives and opportunities that may not have been feasible in the past.”
In its last set of results income at T Clarke was up 15% to £491m but pre-tax profit slipped 26% to £7.6m with the firm blaming challenging market conditions hitting its engineering services business for the fall.
The firm had been hoping to reach a £500m turnover target last year under a three year growth plan.
But it is likely to break this figure this year with its forward order book up 70% to £943m. Its data centre business saw orders jump from £88m in 2022 to £346m last year.
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