Today, we share the news that we’ve purchased the warehousing and freight forwarding elements of Magnus Group, after it was announced earlier in November that the group was intending to appoint administrators.
The acquisition will see us 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, we will also take over circa 200,000 sq ft of warehousing space at Magnus Group’s Great Blakenham facility.
Magnus Group was founded in 1973 and has become a well-known name in Suffolk, not only for its logistics services, but also for its support of local causes, including the sponsorship of Ipswich Town Football Club and Suffolk Cricket.
Andy Perrin, Managing Director at Hemisphere, 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.”
Twenty five jobs will be saved as a result of the agreement, which was one of the key priorities for our Board of Directors ahead of the proposal to take over the business.
The purchase of the two Magnus Group divisions comes at an exciting time for Hemisphere, as we are preparing to open a new multi-million pound warehouse on the Suffolk Port One Logistics Park development.
The site is set for build and completion by Q1 2024, and will enable us to provide 34,750 racked pallet locations, which stack nine levels high, and an additional 8,000 bulk loaded pallets on floors and mezzanines.
Moreover, being based on East Anglia’s first carbon neutral logistics park will enable us and our clients to significantly reduce carbon emissions within the supply chain.
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.
“We truly believe that Hemisphere will be a great fit for those new team members and for the client base, particularly with the exciting development of our upcoming Port One warehouse.
“With state-of-the-art facilities and a vast freight forwarding division, we’ll be able to offer our clients a total logistics solution, and we look forward to providing our full support to Magnus Group’s client base to provide the most seamless transition possible and an efficient continuation of supply chains and services.”
Our team will utilise the warehousing space in Great Blakenham for six months in the build up to our new Port One site, before transitioning the business to the new site immediately upon completion.
We’d like to thank Magnus Group’s suppliers for their cooperation and willingness to help support this acquisition, along with The Access Group, Kennedy Wilson and Larking Gowen. We’d also like to send our praise and gratitude to our solicitors, Keystone Law, as well as Ellisons, who have worked on behalf of Magnus Group, for making the process as seamless as possible.
For further information or to speak to our team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
