Heating equipment manufacturer Hamworthy Heating has been sold for £35m to French engineering group Atlantic Sfdt.
Hamworthy, based in Poole, specialises in the design and manufacture of heating equipment for commercial premises including schools and hospitals. Its sale to the French conglomerate Atlantic was announced on March 31.

NBGI Private Equity led a £11.2m buyout of Hamworthy in January 2002, providing the business with operational and financial support to grow the business.

NBGIPE (www.nbgipe.co.uk), launched in 2000 as a buyout firm focused on established small to medium-sized UK businesses. It has made a 6x return on its original investment in Hamworthy.

'NBGI Private Equity has been a great partner for the business, and during our time together we have considerably built up and grown Hamworthy,' said Nick Templeton-Ward, executive chairman of Hamworthy.

Since its purchase by NBGIPE in 2002, Hamworthy has increased its investment in product development to meet growing demand for environmentally friendly boilers. Hamworthy now has a £20m annual turnover.

'The outlook for the commercial boiler market is extremely positive, and we are all looking forward to taking the business forward to the next chapter with Atlantic,' Templeton-Ward added.

'During our ownership Hamworthy has enjoyed significant growth both in the UK and abroad', said Richard Morley, NBGIPE director.

'Our investment in the company has helped it become a world class manufacturer of innovative commercial heating equipment, and a pioneer of best practice in renewable energy technology. As well as providing top class commercial heating products for the home market Hamworthy now exports abroad to parts of Europe, the Baltic States, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Rim countries. The business is very well positioned for the next stage of its development under new ownership.'

To find out more about Hamworthy go to www.hamworthy-heating.com