Driving back from a typical waste-of-time ‘corporate’ meeting at HQ in Cowley, Oxford, listening to Radio 4’s afternoon programme, I heard a brief discussion of the new phenomena of an MBO, something completely new to me.
Typically this is where a larger company has grown by acquisition or organically and certain parts of the business become regarded as 'non-core' or a 'poor fit' to the current direction of the main business. These parts are either sold or often closed down.
However, the local management of these non-core divisions/companies/plants/units DO believe in their future, sufficient enough to approach headquarters and declare they would like to buy it from the parent.
In the broadcast, an article in a management magazine was referred to. Next morning, I asked Jim Robinson, our Personnel Manager, to locate that magazine. He was successful.
Now our biggest problem was our owner BL. A clear and real impediment to Rearsby sales. If we could get rid of BL, we had a real chance of increasing sales. We were good at what we did. No, VERY good, indeed, passionate about it and it showed. We could be free of large overheads and ‘management’ burdens.
I gathered together my top team.
Don Walker, Commercial Manager, John Henry Harris, Production Manager, Jim Robinson, Personnel Manager, Frank West, Engineering Manager, Joe Eames, Sales Manager, Doug Gamble, Chief Buyer and Frank Murphy the Finance Manager.
I informed the team BL had told me Rearsby was to be closed down, but I thought it had a future. There is a new phenomenon called a MBO. At this stage, I didn’t know what I was doing, but thought it full of possibility and a great potential opportunity. BL was our prob-lem, get rid of them and it would be up to us. So…who was with me?
I gave them until the morning to declare. Frank West and Doug Gamble said it wasn't for them. They were in their late50s/early 60s. The other five, including Joe Eames, who at 62 was the oldest, declared they were onboard. I thanked them all. I asked Joe to remain behind.
I said to Joe (always a 'glass half full' person), "You realise you will be gambling your home on this MBO?" Joe replied "I do." I said, "Joe, I fully appreciate your support but I must point out, I am 35 years old and you are 62. I have years in front of me to recover my home, if it all goes wrong. You don't."
He replied, "Ivor, do you think we can pull it off?"
I responded, "I do."
Joe replied, "Then, I'm with you!"
Joe was probably the bravest of us all.