Profitable and established precision sheet metal fabricator

Our client is a sheet metal fabrication business operating from Southern England. Although it does sell directly to end users, the vast bulk of its business is as a subcontractor to clients operating on long-term supply projects.

Highlights

• Sheet metal manufacturing facility based in Southern England
• Turnover £1.2m, up 90% on 2020 figures
• Operating at 80% capacity – room for around £200,000 more in turnover
• Full in-house production facility with owned equipment
• Fully trained and experienced machine operatives and CAD/CAM designers
• Experienced management team capable of making most day-to-day decisions without director input
• Roster of long-standing, high-value customers
• Market sector expected to grow by 5.5% per annum until year 2030
• Positive cash flows that could be deployed by a new owner to wholly or partly fund expansion and diversification.

Services offered

Our client primarily provides sub-contract precision sheet metal fabrication work to other businesses. Businesses contact our client to manufacture specific, custom metalwork creations which they then use in or as a finished product or, in some cases, in an assembly process.

Their core competencies are:

• Precision laser cutting of metals like custom-shaped metal parts for machinery and decorative metal panels used in construction and interior design.
• Metal punching involves creating holes and shapes on various types of metal sheets. Use cases may include perforated metal sheets for ventilation grilles or component parts for electronics where uniform holes or cut-outs are required.
• Metal folding is the shaping of metal sheets into specific forms and angles to customer specifications. Examples could include the fabrication of bent metal enclosures for electronic devices or architectural elements like metal cladding or roofing components.
• Metal welding is the process by which pieces of metal are fused to create a strong bond. Typical applications include the construction of welded structural frames for buildings or machinery and the creation of bespoke metal furniture and unique retail products.
• Guillotining is the provision of straight, clean cuts on metal sheets. Examples may include straight-edged metal components used in construction, such as framing or support beams, and in preparing flat metal sheets required for various manufacturing processes and product fabrication.

To achieve consistency and precision across all output, our client has invested heavily in the latest CNC and CAD/CAM facilities. CAD/CAM software is used to transform clients’ concepts into detailed 2D models and technical drawings to ensure precision and accuracy in the final design output. The models and drawings created are then used by CNC machines to automatically cut and shape the final product. This, combined with our client’s skilled workforce, ensures they fulfil and execute all customer requirements accurately.

Personnel

In addition to the directors, there are:

• Workshop supervisor
• Senior Programmer Operator
• Press Brake Operator
• Welder Operator
• A team of Workshop Operatives

While the directors are involved in the day to day running of the business, they consult with their management and accounting colleagues on strategic and financial decisions.

Financial performance

Stand-outs from their last three years’ figures are:

• Steady revenue growth: Turnover has increased from £800k in 2021 to £1.2m in 2023.
• High and stable gross profits: 34.6% achieved in the last FY, within the same range as the previous two years.
• Increased net profits before tax: Profit margin doubled from 5.86% in 2021 to 11.81% in 2023.

Enquire

Although profitable and with good cash flows, the opportunities for growth under new ownership are exciting. The firm currently operates at around 80% capacity – in other words, it could increase its turnover to around £1.5m with a pre-tax profit of £177,000 without having to employ extra staff or purchase additional machinery and equipment. The company doesn’t not promote itself nor does it have a dedicated salesperson – the addition of both could fuel fast and profitable growth.

We expect interest in our client’s business to be significant so we kindly ask that you contact us without delay to arrange a meeting or phone call with the current owners.