William Hare Group (WHG), a leading steel engineering business employing approximately 2,000 people across nine UK sites—with additional operations in Europe, the UAE, and India—has been acquired by prominent entrepreneur Simon Orange.
This strategic acquisition signals a new chapter for WHG, a company with a proud legacy dating back to 1945, when it was founded in Bury, Greater Manchester, by Bartle Hodgkiss, son-in-law of William Hare. Today, WHG generates annual revenues exceeding £350 million and serves a diverse range of sectors including infrastructure, transportation, energy, nuclear, retail, leisure, mining, and commercial real estate.
WHG has played a critical role in delivering several high-profile projects, such as Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station, Battersea Power Station, HS2 infrastructure, The Royal Opera House, 40 Leadenhall, and 20 Fenchurch Street (commonly known as the “Walkie Talkie” building).
Simon Orange, the elder brother of Take That’s Jason Orange has acquired a majority interest in WHG in a personal capacity and not via his investment company CorpAcq.
Matthew Nesbit, Group Board Director at William Hare Group, commented:
“This marks an exciting new chapter for William Hare. The business remains in a strong financial position, with historically high cash reserves, offering clients confidence in our ability to deliver complex, high-quality outcomes. In the current economic climate, supply chain reliability is more important than ever—and we are well-positioned to deliver world-class solutions across the built environment.”
Simon Orange added:
“I’m delighted to invest in William Hare Group, a company with a distinguished history and a dynamic culture. With its market-leading expertise in engineering, fabrication, construction, and sustainability, WHG is exceptionally well-equipped to play a significant role in the future of the global construction and manufacturing sectors.”
Legal and corporate advisory services to WHG were provided by the corporate team at Brabners.
Simon Lewis, Partner at Brabners, said:
“We’ve had the privilege of working with William Hare Group over many years and have witnessed its evolution from a North West family business into a global engineering leader. We are proud to have supported this transaction and look forward to seeing the company thrive under its new ownership.”
Over the last 20 years, Simon Orange has been involved in funding and managing many successful businesses and has overseen the creation and growth of a number of ventures that have been sold to companies trading on the NASDAQ and London Stock Exchange.
He founded CorpAcq, which had a majority stake acquired by TDR Capital earlier this year for $1.2bn.
Based in Altrincham, Corpacq specializes in making investments in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.K., with a focus on industrial products and services. The firm currently has a portfolio of 43 companies and generated £697 million in revenue and £119 million of adjusted Ebitda in the financial year ended 2023.
With Simon Orange’s extensive background in investing and supporting industrial products and service companies Orange and William Hare Group (WHG) would seem to be a perfect fit.
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