Thomson Snell & Passmore advises on sale of water specialists, Cascade Pipeline Corporation, to Wolseley UK

Cascade Pipeline Corporation, a leading manufacturer and supplier of specialist pipe fittings and services to the UK water sector, has been sold to Wolseley Infrastructure, a key distributor to the civils and utilities markets under the Burdens & Fusion Utilities brands. Law firm Thomson Snell & Passmore advised the shareholders of Cascade on the transaction.

This acquisition will support Wolseley as it continues its growth strategy in the UK water market and offers customers a unique proposition with exclusive product ranges.

With its main site located in East Sussex, Cascade Pipeline Corporation has enjoyed strong growth in recent years, focusing on the highest levels of customer service and product expertise. This acquisition will complement Wolseley Infrastructure’s national coverage with Cascade’s unique product range and loyal customer base. Both brands will be retained along with all existing sites and personnel.

Joanne Gallagher, M&A Partner and Head of Corporate team at Thomson Snell & Passmore led the legal team on the sale for Cascade. She was supported by William Chivers and Inez Abeynayake in the Corporate team. Joanne Wright, Alex Lewsley and Verity Cutts advised on the Commercial Property aspects of the deal.

Due to the nature of the transaction, the sell side deal team included Ben Stepney advising on Employment, Nitzan Cohen advising on Corporate Tax and Mathew Boyle on Pensions.

Wolseley was advised on the buy side by National law firm Eversheds.

John Hancock, Managing Director of Wolseley Infrastructure comments: “We are delighted to welcome Cascade Pipeline Corporation to Wolseley. Our Fusion Utilities brand is built on industry leading expertise and great customer service, attributes which are only enhanced with the Cascade team and their innovative range of products. We look forward to providing customers of both businesses our newly enhanced product and service proposition”.

Andrew Munro, Director of Cascade Pipeline Corporation adds: “Over the years Cascade has established itself as a reliable brand in the UK water industry, servicing frameworks with major water authorities and supplying an extensive range of products to clients throughout the country. Cascade has been approached on many occasions by parties interested in joining forces, however none of these suitors had the infrastructure, product range or reach that Wolseley has. It was an obvious choice and one that I am extremely excited about to have Wolseley take over the reins at Cascade bringing new products and opportunities to both parties and flourishing together into the future.  I would like to thank the legal team at Thomson Snell & Passmore, led by Joanne Gallagher, for their support and expertise in helping get the deal completed for Cascade.”

Joanne Gallagher at Thomson Snell & Passmore says: “M&A activity remains buoyant, especially in the mid-market space, as this transaction demonstrates. We are delighted to have worked on this project and got this one over the line and are confident that Cascade will continue to flourish as part of the much larger Wolseley group.”