Hemisphere Acquire Two Divisions of Magnus Group
1st December 2023
Hemisphere Freight Services are set to purchase the warehousing and freight forwarding elements of Magnus Group after it was announced that the group was intending to appoint administrators.
The acquisition will see Hemisphere Freight Services take on Magnus Group’s warehousing and forwarding divisions, as well as all associated operational staff.
The agreement aims to minimise business disruption to Magnus’ clients, as well as provide continuous employment to their warehousing and forwarding team members. As part of the arrangement, Hemisphere will also take over circa 200,000 sq ft of warehousing space at Magnus Group’s Great Blakenham facility,
Twenty-five jobs will be saved as a result of the agreement, which was one of the key priorities for Hemisphere’s board of directors ahead of the proposal to take over the business.
Andy Perrin, Hemisphere’s Managing Director, said; "It’s always hard to see a fellow family-run business go into administration, especially after decades of successful trading and becoming so well-respected within the local community. Our sincere condolences go out to everyone affected at what must be an incredibly difficult time.
This is a sad reflection of the current state of the industry and economic conditions, and our offer to acquire the warehousing and forwarding elements of the business was, above all else, an attempt to safeguard the employment and ensure the wellbeing of as many of Magnus Group’s team members as possible - particularly in the run-up to Christmas, when many households are feeling the strain.
We are incredibly excited to be able to welcome the new team members to the Hemisphere family and to strengthen the exceptional service we’ve always offered our clients."
The purchase of the two Magnus Group divisions comes at an exciting time for Hemisphere Freight Services as they prepare to open a new multi-million pound warehouse on the Suffolk Port One Logistics Park development (read more).
The site is set for build and completion by Q1 2024, and will enable the business to provide 34,750 racked pallet locations, which stack nine levels high, and an additional 8,000 bulk loaded pallets on floors and mezzanines.
Hemisphere’s Director, Craig Perrin, has said that the acquisition comes at a pivotal moment in the business’ growth:
"This deal creates the opportunity to add some fantastic people to our team, as well as add a number of new clients to our portfolio, enabling us to demonstrate our exceptional customer service and form new relationships which will hopefully last for many years to come. The priority for us is to minimise disruption on both sides and ensure that Magnus Group’s current client base is well informed and well taken care of throughout this process.
Hemisphere’s team will utilise warehousing space in Great Blakenham for six months in the build up to their new Port One site, before transitioning the business to the new site immediately upon completion.
The Hemisphere team has thanked Magnus Group’s suppliers for their cooperation and willingness to help get the agreement over the line, along with The Access Group, Kennedy Wilson and Larking Gowen. The team has also praised their solicitors, Keystone Law, as well as Ellisons, who have worked on behalf of Magnus Group, for making the process as seamless as possible.
Louis Perrin, Director at Hemisphere, added:
"At our core we are a family business, which has grown into a major logistics provider, and our growing success is largely attributed to our amazingly dedicated team. With us welcoming 25 new employees across the warehousing and forwarding sectors, we see this as a significant enhancement to our abilities to service both our existing and new clients alike."
