The Bristol office of national law firm Clarke Willmott has advised on the sale of home delivery firm Panther Logistics on its sale to a US group.
Clarke Willmott’s corporate team worked with the management of the Northampton-based firm, the UK’s largest independent ‘two-man’ home delivery business, to sell it to AIT Worldwide Logistics. 
The team previously acted for Panther Logistics’ management on their £17m, LDC-backed management buyout (MBO) four years ago.
Since then Panther, which counts the likes of Wayfair, Dunelm, Silentnight, Samsung and Decathlon among its customers, has doubled its sales to more than £60m, tripled profits and created 300-plus jobs.
Clarke Willmott was called in again by executive director Colin McCarthy and the management team to handle the sale to AIT.
The Clarke Willmott team was led by corporate partners Simon Smith and Kirill Bingham with support from Niall Murphy (tax) and Tim Copplestone (employment).
Simon Smith, pictured, said: “Panther is a great success story and it has been a pleasure advising the management team on the sale to AIT.
“It is always nice to follow clients to the next stage of a company’s development and we were delighted that Colin and the team chose to instruct us again. 
“The growth, both in sales and profits, achieved by the group since the management buyout in 2016 is remarkable and with AIT’s support we look forward to seeing this trajectory continue, further reinforcing the firm position as the UK market leader in specialist two-man delivery.”
Panther, which opened a depot on the outskirts of Bristol at Pucklechurch, in 2015, is now set for further expansion following its acquisition. Chicago-based AIT is a global transportation management leader, operating from more than 75 locations in Asia, Europe and North America.
Panther executive director Colin McCarthy added: “The Clarke Willmott team were the obvious choice to advise me and my team on the sale of Panther to AIT Worldwide Logistics.
“Having previously acted for us on our management buyout, we were confident in their ability and their commitment to get the deal done.
“Working to some tight deadlines, they once again provided invaluable support and guidance throughout the process and are highly recommended”.
As well as Bristol, Clarke Willmott also has offices in Birmingham, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton.
Law firms Eversheds Sutherland and White & Case also advised on the deal, financial details of which have not been disclosed.
