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Private equity firm NorthEdge has completed the sale of Cutwel, the UK and Ireland’s market leader in specialist value-added cutting tool distribution to the SME precision engineering sector, to Inflexion Private Equity Partners (Inflexion) following a period of strong growth.
NorthEdge was advised on the transaction by Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) and Sentio Partners.
Cutwel, based in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, serves over 13,000 customers across a wide range of sectors through a disruptive sales model. The business provides the largest range of cutting and machine tool accessories stocked in the UK for next day delivery, together with providing its suppliers with go-to-market support in the UK. The acquisition will allow Cutwel to continue its growth and grow its market share.
WBD had advised NorthEdge on both the buyout by Inflexion, and also the management shareholders on the terms of their ongoing investment in the business.
WBD advised NorthEdge on their original investment in Cutwel back in 2018, which saw the private equity firm invest in supporting the company's scaling of its sales team and further boosting recruitment and training.
The WBD team was led by partner Stacey Hall alongside Simon Pilling (who has been the client relationship partner during NorthEdge's investment). They were supported by Saba Mahmood. The wider WBD team included Laura Daniels and Ashley Borthwick who advised on regulatory matters.
Stacey Hall said:
"NorthEdge has been a significant catalyst for Cutwel's growth since they originally invested, and this secondary buyout by Inflexion represents a new stage for the company to go from strength-to-strength in their market.
We were pleased to play a part in the original investment by NorthEdge back in 2018 and it's great when a long term relationship continues on to the next stage and value is created for the various stakeholders.
To now be a part of this transaction and see the investment go full-circle is an exciting moment for our team. We can't wait to see what follows on for Cutwel from this successful transaction for their strong and ambitious management team alongside their new investor."
Adam Gillard, CEO of Cutwel, said:
"With NorthEdge’s support we have built a platform that is fit for future growth and we are excited to build on this momentum with our new partners, Inflexion.
This would not have been possible without the hard work from the WBD team who made this transaction a smooth and straight-forward process."
John Hammond, director at NorthEdge, said:
"It has been a pleasure working with Adam and the wider Cutwel team over these last six years and seeing the company continue to grow in size and impact, and we hope Inflexion are excited to be working in partnership with such a great team.
I'd also like to thank the WBD team for their support throughout this whole process – from assisting with the original investment to growing with us on this partnership and advising wider management shareholders along with the overall needs of this exit; it's brilliant to have advisers of that nature who understand the legal needs and market considerations like they do."
