Sale Sharks tycoon Simon Orange buys steel giant
The co-owner of rugby union side Sale Sharks, Simon Orange, has bought the UK’s second-largest steel contractor just a few months after selling his investment business in a deal worth more than £1bn.
Self-made millionaire Orange, whose brother Jason was an original member of Take That, has snapped up a majority stake in Greater Manchester-based William Hare for an undisclosed sum.
First reported by Building.com, the deal will see the company’s current management team remain in place.
William Hare can trace its roots back to 1888 and is now based in Bury.
According to its most recently filed accounts, the business posted a turnover of £315.5m for 2023, up from £248.3m.
It also returned to making a pre-tax profit, chalking up a total of £5.7m after it made a loss of £853,000 in 2022.
William Hare’s accounts for 2024 are due to be filed with Companies House by the end of September.
William Hare has previously completed work on the likes of Media City in Salford, the headquarters of Aldar in Abu Dhabi and the Bloomberg building in the City of London.
City AM has reached out to William Hare and Simon Orange for comment.
Simon Orange makes first move after £1bn deal
Orange hit the headlines in January when sold his business empire to Asda backer TDR Capital in a deal worth more than £1bn.
CorpAcq, which is based in Cheshire, counts more than 40 businesses as part of its portfolio including the likes of Cotton Traders. CorpAcq does not included Sale Sharks.
That deal came almost 18 months after CorpAcq announced a £1.6bn plan to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) founded by Michael Klein.
However the move, which would have taken CorpAqc public in New York, was officially called off in August last year after a series of delays.
At the time, Klein’s vehicle Churchill Capital VII cited difficult IPO market conditions for the decision.
Sell side advice was provided to William Hare by the corporate team at Brabners.
Simon Lewis, partner at Brabners, said: “We’ve worked with William Hare Group for a number of years, and it’s been a pleasure to watch a family-owned business rooted in the North West continue to provide innovative services for clients all over the world.
“We’re pleased to have been able to support the business throughout this transaction, and look forward to watching it continue to go from strength to strength under this new ownership structure.”