J S Wright, one of the UK’s longest established building services providers, has been bought out by its senior management team.

The mechanical and electrical specialist, which was founded in 1890 and has its headquarters in Birmingham and offices in Bristol and London, is now owned by its team of five executive directors who have run the business for the past ten years.

Marcus Aniol, who was appointed managing director in 2008, is now a major shareholder in the company alongside finance director Martin Roberts, national design and estimating director Andrew Smith, national mechanical contracts director Phil Leech and national electrical contracts director Paul Featherston.

The buy-out of J S Wright, which is projected to become a £50m business this year, follows the retirement of previous owners and main board directors Peter Marsh, Edwin Moore and David Osborne, who stepped down from the day-to-day running of the company in 2006.

Marcus Aniol said: “Our thanks go to the previous owners for their careful stewardship and faith in our ability to develop the company to what it is today. We have an established team of directors in place with the drive, determination and vision to take the business forward to an exciting future.

“We aim to build on our long-standing business relationships, and continue to grow our business with clients and suppliers that like us value people, integrity and the highest quality standards.”

The corporate finance team at the Birmingham office of accountants MHA MacIntyre Hudson, led by Mukesh Bulsara, advised the management team on the buy-out, with MHA tax partner Jay Boyce providing expert tax advice. The Wilkes Partnership led by Gareth O’Hara provided legal advice to the management team, while the legal advisers to the vendors were Shakespeare Martineau led by Gary Davie. Funding for the transaction was provided by NatWest Bank.

J S Wright specialises in the design and installation of mechanical and electrical (M&E) services for the hotel, residential, social housing, student accommodation, leisure and commercial sectors. Current projects range from the fit-out of Birmingham’s Left Bank development to a record-breaking £27m M&E contract for Keybridge in London, incorporating the UK’s tallest residential apartment tower.  

Pictured above: J S Wright’s five executive directors who have bought out the company L to R: Phil Leech, Marcus Aniol, Paul Featherston, Martin Roberts and Andrew Smith