Ashtons Legal assist on sale of marine engineers

A multidisciplinary team from Ashtons Legal has recently assisted the shareholders of renowned marine engineering specialist AR Peachment Limited in the sale of the company to a member of the Alliance Marine Group, a French recreational boating and marine equipment distributor.

Created in 1966 by Anthony (Tony) Peachment and his wife Daphne, AR Peachment quickly became renowned as a marine engineering specialist, bringing complete solutions in marine mechanical, hydraulic and electrical systems. When the time came for them to retire, Anthony and Daphne handed the reins over to their son Kevin and Andrew Peachment, keeping the business in the family. The company grew rapidly and built its reputation on expert service and reactivity, combined with the ability to develop custom drive systems to meet the needs of inland waterways charter companies in particular.

The current team of 10 at AR Peachment remains unchanged, with Kevin and Andrew remaining as Managing Director and Technical Director respectively. They will continue to be supported by their expert team.

Advising on the sale was Mark Watson from Ashtons’ Corporate and Commercial team. They were expertly assisted by Charlotte Vallins in the firm’s Commercial Property team and Jessica Piper from the firm’s Employment Law team. Chris Bidgood at Lees Accountants provided the necessary accounting and tax advice.

Mark Watson said: “AR Peachment is a well-known and well respected local marine business which can look forward to the next stage of its development as part of the Alliance Marine Group. I have known the shareholders at AR Peachment for some time and it has truly been a pleasure to advise them on this transaction. I wish them and the business every success in the future”.

Kevin Peachment adds: “This is a very exciting time for us and we look forward to the new prospects and new challenges ahead that come with being a part of an enlarged group. This opens a new chapter for AR Peachment to move forward and strengthening our customer base Europe wide and taking advantage of new opportunities”.

“We have been extremely grateful for the excellent advice and support we were given during the transaction by the team at Ashtons Legal. Ashtons deliver their advice in a clear and concise way, always offering solutions to any problems we faced and always with our best interests at the centre of everything. Mark Watson is very commercial and pragmatic in the advice that he gives. You always felt that Mark genuinely cared about the transaction, which filled us with an immense amount of confidence. We got the result that we wanted and Ashtons guidance made what could have been a very stressful time a more pleasant and manageable experience”.