General manager of Wirral heating and ventilation and facilities management firm Kimpton leads management buyout of the £25m-turnover business, ending a 61-year family ownership. Tony McDonough reports

Wirral firm Kimpton has undergone a management buyout (MBO) which ends two generations of ownership by the Kimpton family across more than 60 years.

Based in Bromborough, Kimpton specialises in mechanical and engineering services, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, commercial fit-out and service and facilities management.

It was founded by Eric Kimpton 61 years ago. In 2001 his son Richard Kimpton took over the business, also in an MBO, and since then has overseen significant growth.

Kimpton’s most recent accounts, filed on Companies House show annual pre-tax profits rising by more than 75% to £25.7m. Pre-tax profits more than doubled to £1.8m from just over £750,000 in the previous year. It employs more than 80 people.

This saw Richard Kimpton, chief executive and majority shareholder of the business, along with minority shareholder Sarah Kimpton, share dividends of almost £200,000.

Now the Kimptons have decided to cash in by selling a controlling stake in the business to Tim Davis, who was formerly the firm’s general manager, and Linzi Kelly. Value of the deal was undisclosed but the accounts reveal net assets of £4.38m.

In the announcement Kimpton said Richard Kimpton would “remain invested in the business” and support the MBO team in a non-executive capacity. Tim Davis becomes managing director and Linzi Kelly financial director.

They are joined on the board by five experienced colleagues from the existing senior team – Paul Cooper, Scott Bennett, Paul Davies, Andy Morgan and Matt Breakwell. They share multiple years of operational, service and project delivery expertise.

Long-serving Kimpton director Ron Tierney will retire from the business following the MBO, while Colin Swanick is also retiring as a director but will remain employed within the firm.

Tim said: “Our strong customer base continues to grow, encouraged by our expanded range of services, and the dedication of our team. The vision we have for the company is ambitious and yet pragmatic.

“We will continue to build on our reputation for quality and dependability, in keeping with the ethos and foundations of the company, building the diversity of our business, and in turn creating growth, security, and opportunities.”

In recent years Kimpton has expanded its offer to offer full facilities management, turnkey commercial and science fit-out, with a focus on decarbonisation, alongside the team’s developed MEP specialism in high rise residential construction.

Local clients include ACC Liverpool, the Home Office and Crown Commercial Services. It has also worked on multi-million pound projects in Birmingham, Bath, Cardiff, London, Leeds and Manchester.

In 2022 LBN reported how the firm had secured a £750,000 contract to upgrade the heating and water system to reduce carbon emissions in the Tower Hotel at London’s iconic Tower Bridge.

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Richard Kimpton added: “It has been a privilege to lead Kimpton for the past 23 years and witness the continued broadening of our customer base and the enhancement of our local and national reputation as a trusted delivery partner.

“We needed to know that we would be leaving the company in safe hands so we have been careful to take our time with this, and I now look forward to supporting the team in the next chapter for Kimpton in a non-executive capacity in the years ahead.”