Kettle Ltd sold to Co-Operative Group (CWS) Ltd

Co-Operative Group (CWS) Ltd, the operator of funeral homes across the country, has acquired the entire issued share capital of Kettle Ltd.

Kettle Ltd operated two funeral homes in Grimsby and Louth.

Forrester Boyd Chartered Accountants acted as lead corporate finance advisers to the vendor of Kettle Ltd throughout the sale process. The firm advised the vendor on all financial aspects of the deal, including negotiations with the buyer, the structure of the consideration, pension considerations, and on the taxation aspects of the deal. Forrester Boyd’s team was led by Corporate Finance Manager Mike Beckett.

Mr and Mrs Chevins, of Kettle Ltd said:

“When we considered the sale of the company in August 2005, little did we suspect the difficulty of the months ahead. The final decision of sale was to be made with three prospective purchasers. Mike Beckett and the team at Forrester Boyd were of great help in finalising the choice. However, this was when the real work began. The final buyer was a very large group purchaser, with a large team to back up the process of surveying, accountancy and due diligence, and of course the level of demand to match. We were very lucky to have Forrester Boyd equal to their requirements and we emerged through the end of the tunnel unscathed and extremely pleased with the result.”