Weldex goes to Dunedin
24 June 2010
Private equity house Dunedin has invested in Weldex, the UK's largest crawler crane rental company.
The deal values Weldex Holdings Limited at £100 million (US$150 million). Dunedin has backed existing owners, the McGilvray family, to continue their expansion of the business.
Dougie McGilvray, Weldex CEO, said, "We have a strong order book and good visibility on forward orders for the larger cranes, particularly for those being used in the renewable energy and power plant sectors for which demand is expected to increase in the UK. Our headquarters remain in Inverness and the McGilvray family remain fully involved in the day to day running of the business."
Mark Ligertwood, who led the deal for Dunedin and who joins the board of Weldex, said, "We have tracked the progress of this business for a considerable time and have been impressed at the way it has continued to grow through the recession by focusing on large, complex infrastructure projects and the offshore wind power industry.
"Weldex is the clear market leader in its field and the accomplishments of Dougie and his family were the key factor in our decision to make the investment. Weldex is extremely well positioned to play a vital role in the construction of new offshore wind capacity over the next 20 years. With strong technical expertise and a track record of delivery, Weldex is well placed to benefit from this increased investment."
Weldex is placed 16th out of 173 entries in the 2010 International Cranes and Specialized Transport magazine IC50 ranking of the world's largest crane-owning companies. It has a fleet of 105 crawler cranes, including a pair of 1,350 tonne capacity LR 11350 Liebherrs. Dougie McGilvray established the business in 1979. It operates throughout the UK and overseas from headquarters in Inverness, Scotland, and Derbyshire, England. There are 102 employees.
The company's cranes have worked on high profile projects, including Wembley Stadium, Heathrow Airport's Terminal Five and sites for the 2012 Olympics. Looking ahead, the company is well placed to benefit from growth in the wind energy and other areas of power generation.
