Squire Patton Boggs has advised Imperial Mobility International B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Imperial Holdings Limited, on a conditional agreement, with Phoenix Equity Partners Limited to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of Palletways Group Limited and its subsidiary undertakings, for an enterprise value consideration of £162.9 million.

Leading the Squire Patton Boggs team in Leeds was Corporate partner Richard Hunt, assisted by Corporate associate Hannah Graham and Tax Strategy & Benefits partner Peter Morley.

Founded in the UK in 1994, Palletways provides an express delivery solution for small consignments of palletised freight through more than 400 depots and 14 hubs, which collect and distribute 38,000 pallets daily or 8 million pallets annually across 20 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Spain, Slovakia and the UK, where it currently handles one in every four pallets handled by palletised freight networks.

Imperial Holdings Limited is a JSE-listed, South African-based international group of companies active in three major areas of mobility: consumer and industrial logistics; vehicle import, distribution, dealerships, retail, rental and aftermarket parts; and vehicle-related Financial Services.

Richard Hunt commented: “We are delighted to have advised Imperial on this transformative acquisition, which will enhance the Imperial's pan European logistics capability and lead to further growth opportunities. It was a pleasure working with the team at Imperial to deliver this important strategic acquisition.”

Relationship Partner Adam Hastings added: “We’re pleased to act on our first instruction for Imperial on a significant transaction, and look forward to supporting them on future projects.”