Family's £35m rubbish windfall

THE Taylor family has proven the adage 'where there's muck, there's brass' by agreeing to sell its waste container company to private equity group ECI Partners for about £35m.

Taylor Continental Holdings was founded in 1962 by Egbert Taylor and employs about 200 people designing and manufacturing a range of steel and plastic bins for both household and commercial markets at its base in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Taylor was advised by BDO Stoy Hayward.

Egbert's three sons - all have names beginning with A - stand to walk away with a substantial fortune. The company had a turnover of £25m in the year to April 30, supplying products ranging from domestic wheelie bins to public recycling units. Its customers include about 90% of all local councils and it has established strong working relationships with leading waste firms such as Biffa and Cleanaway.

Taylor's biggest-selling product is the steel 'Continental' container for trade waste, which supplies about 40% of the market. Anton, Alston and Adair Taylor, who have managed the company's recent rapid growth, will be replaced by a new management team led by Ross Ancell as chairman and Peter Selkirk as chief executive.

Ancell has considerable experience in the sector, having previously been chief executive of waste management and construction group Churngold.

Adair's son, Alden Taylor, and Anton's daughter, Aletia, will both be staying with the company - Alden as operations director and Aletia in the marketing division.

Following completion of the deal, ECI, which was advised by Grant Thornton and PWC Corporate Finance, said it intended to invest in products for new markets.