Monarch Chemicals is one of the leading independent suppliers of commodity chemicals within the UK. It was incorporated in 1989 under the name Monarch Distribution Limited, before eventually becoming Monarch Chemicals Limited in 2005. It underwent an MBO in 2019 when the current management team took over from the previous ownership. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength.

Brenntag UK is a subsidiary of Brenntag SE, the global market leader in chemical and ingredients distribution. It has more than 17,700 employees worldwide and operates a network of more than 600 sites in 72 countries.

Barnes Roffe has supported Monarch Chemicals for a proportion of its lifecycle from acting for the previous ownership with accounting, audit, tax and ad hoc advice. It was having this historical knowledge of the company that enabled the provision of the best possible planning advice pre-sale and better process management.

Daniel Wright, Corporate Finance Director at Barnes Roffe said “It was a pleasure working with the team at Monarch to help them achieve their exit plans. We ran a competitive process, receiving multiple offers from both UK and internation prospective buyers.

As always, there were a number of hurdles to overcome along the way, which we managed to navigate successfully and as efficiently as possible.

Brenntag was identified early on as a fantastic fit for the business and its staff. I have no doubt that the staff will be looked after and given the opportunity to flourish as part of a much larger organisation. The acquisition will also enable Monarch to enhance its offering to its existing client base, utilising the resources Brenntag has at its disposal.”

Legal services were provided by James Worrall and the team at RWK Goodman.