Management Buyout At British GRP Manufacturer Filon Products

Mark Wilcox, along with the senior management team of Craig Bainbridge, Laura Francis, John Charles, Bharat Gandhi, Sally Stokes, Richard Davies, and Nigel Brumby, have completed a management buyout.

This means that with immediate effect Steve Vickers is stepping down from his position as Managing Director and Mark is taking his place. Steve will stay with the company for a while and focus his efforts on the Technical Department; he isn’t leaving in a rush so the benefit of his experience, knowledge and expertise will be available for some time yet.

Steve commented ‘I want to convey my support and very best wishes for the new team that are taking over the Company. They are all talented and very capable individuals who have the best interests of the Company and its workforce at heart.’

The new Filon board of directors, with Mark as Managing Director includes Craig Bainbridge, who steps up to the position of Operations Director and has full responsibility for the operational side of the business. Laura Francis completes the board as she takes on the position of Financial Director.

New Managing Director, Mark Wilcox, continued ‘The MBO is a natural step for us and falls in line with our succession plans. We’re fortunate to have been able to use the same legal and accountancy firms as in the previous MBOs and enjoyed crucial support from HSBC and all the necessary finance is in place so we can continue with the same excellent service levels our customers rely on. It’s pretty much business as usual’.

Filon’s range of GRP construction products include profiled GRP rooflights, GRP valley troughs for pitched roofing and a lightweight GRP over-roofing system designed to refurbish existing asbestos cement roofs without the disruption and cost of asbestos removal and disposal. Flat sheeting is also available for a host of applications including road traffic signs and our Product Development team is always looking for something to push them, so if you have a requirement for GRP products, give them a call. 2022 is already set to see some innovative new products being launched and more information will be available later in the year.

Here’s to the next chapter in the story of Filon. Best wishes to all and a huge thanks to our customers and suppliers alike for their continued support. Special thanks go to Steve Vickers and Julie Cox who retired from her position as Financial Director in late 2021. They worked tirelessly at Filon for many years and have handed it on in great shape.