Horseboxes buyout
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• A management buyout team is putting together a finance package to buy Banbury Horseboxes, which is for sale now that its owner Extra Special Vehicles is in receivership.
Former ESV chairman Bob Colman is confident that Banbury can thrive: "The trouble stemmed from one agent in Denmark who took £500,000 worth of vehicles and didn't pay." Colman also blames over-stretching of group finance in acquiring sister company HMK, a Danish specialist bodybuilder, and the current reluctance of finance institu tions to make loans to transport businesses.
"The horsebox side of the business is very good," says Colman. "We expect to pick up a lot of export work when we get going."
Banbury Horseboxes employs 40 staff who will be kept on if the buyout goes through. Last year's turnover was around Om. The company has been building an off-the-shelf range of boxes on AWD chassis since last December and so far sales have been "very successful", with the manufacture of about 40 boxes, says Colman.