International law firm Gowling WLG has advised client Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) on the acquisition of M J Wilson Group Limited (MJ Wilson), the leading independent UK distributor of process instrumentation and control products.

The transaction was led by Corporate, Finance and Tax partner Ian Piggin, Jade MacDonald and Stephen Bowman with support from a cross-firm team including Fabiano Iesini (corporate), Anna Colley (property), Michael Murphy (tax) and Matt Owen (banking).

Founded in 1972, MJ Wilson is a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and overhaul components (MRO), seller of highly technical process and instrumentation products and provider of calibration and repair services. Headquartered in Grimsby, MJ Wilson has five regional branches and a number of specialist staff who provide best in class service and rapid delivery of critical components to a diverse range of long-standing, blue-chip customers across the UK.

The acquisition marks the first in an accelerated programme of investment for Cairngorm Capital, in partnership with Ian Ritchie and his management team, into technically focused UK companies across the MRO sector and the second platform investment for its second fund Cairngorm Capital II, which closed in April 2017. The transaction is Cairngorm Capital’s 11th proprietary transaction since July 2016.

The firm's Head of Private Equity, partner Ian Piggin said "We are thrilled to have supported the team at Cairngorm Capital in their acquisition of M J Wilson Group and to help deliver the first investment of its MRO strategy, facilitating further growth and future prospects for development. Our cross-team approach allowed us to deal with challenges in a timely and efficient manner, handling multiple aspects of the acquisition simultaneously to deliver the deal to deadline. It was a pleasure to work with Cairngorm and we hope to advise them further in the future."

Amit Thaper, Investment Director at Cairngorm Capital, said: “The commitment of the Gowling WLG team has proven invaluable in enabling a smooth process throughout. Their experience in the market and cross-sector approach has been essential in completing the acquisition in an efficient and professional manner – it has been a pleasure to work with Ian and the team."

"MJ Wilson is an excellent example of the sort of business in which Cairngorm Capital invests in – we are interested in firms that have demonstrated that they can weather economic volatility, have a differentiated customer offering and have significant future growth prospects. A priority for us is the quality and success of the management team, and we are excited to partner with the MJ Wilson management and Ian Ritchie and his team as we build a national MRO distribution business. We hope this is the first in a series of investments in the sector.”