Historic removals business Bishops Move is sold to prominent UK trade buyer

Bishops Move, a £16m turnover family-owned removals business established in 1854, has been sold to prominent UK trade buyer, AGM Group Ltd, for an undisclosed sum. 

With its HQ in Surrey, the 166 year old company had grown to become one of the UK’s leading domestic, international and commercial removals firms, counting UK prime ministers and an Archbishop of Canterbury as past customers. 

Accountancy firm, Menzies LLP led by Kevin Paget, Corporate Finance Director and Simon Underwood, Corporate Restructuring Partner, were engaged by Bishops Move to project manage the sale of the business. 

Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the decimated removals market, there were a lot of parties interested in acquiring this much respected business.

The end result saw the business being sold as a going concern through a pre-packaged sale. Joint administrators, Emma Thompson, Adam Stephens and Finbarr O’Connell, at Smith & Williamson were appointed and a pre-pack sale of the business to AGM Group Ltd was completed.

Andrew Walker, Partner, Irwin Mitchell headed up the legal team advising the seller; asset valuations were provided by Hilco; property related issues were handled by Peter Fenwick and Co. and the pension stakeholders were supported by Open Trustees Ltd, led by Jonathan Hazlett.

The deal will secure a sustainable future for the business as it moves into the next chapter of its long history, whilst protecting more than 190 jobs across the UK.

Kevin Paget, Corporate Finance Director said, “I’m delighted to have worked with the Bishop family and other company directors in securing the future of the business whilst achieving what could be considered a fair valuation in normal market conditions, let alone in the current economic climate. AGM is a great fit for the business and their pragmatism and approach to the process helped enormously.

Al Bingle, COO at Bishops Move added, “We are looking forward to working with AGM Group and our new colleagues to continue to provide our clients with the same quality service they have come to expect of us during the long term relationships we have forged with them over the years. On behalf of all at Bishops, I would like to extend our thanks to Kevin Paget, Simon Underwood and the Menzies team who were instrumental in helping us negotiate a deal with AGM and provided invaluable support throughout the process.”