Clairfield UK won the International Deal of the Year award at the Midlands Dealmakers Awards 2017 for the sale of LG Harris & Co Ltd (Harris) to the Norwegian Orkla for GBP 55 million.

Clairfield UK was engaged in 2013 to deliver a profit improvement plan and subsequently orchestrate a sale process to maximize consideration for shareholders. In 2013 the business had revenues of GBP 49 million and EBITDA of GBP 1.4 million. For the 12 months to March 2016, Harris had achieved revenues of GBP 61 million and EBITDA of GBP 5.7 million.

Harris was founded in 1928 and was owned by the Harris family, together with the company’s management and employees.

Harris is a market leader for painting tools in the UK Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market, with well-known brands such as Harris, Lynwood, Harris Victory and T-Class. The majority of the company’s sales are made in the UK market, and there is also significant export business.

The transaction was led by James Grenfell and Gary Ecob of Clairfield UK with legal support from Simon Gill at Gateley plc.