Bury-headquartered Crown Oil has acquired £18m-turnover counterpart business Star Oil for an undisclosed sum.
Stockport-based Star Oil, set up 20 years ago by Christian Hatherall and Michael Doyle, has seven tankers across the North West supplying fuel, oil and lubricants to industrial operations, farms and homes.
Star Oil’s 10 employees, along with Christian Hatherall, will remain with the business, however Mr Doyle will seek opportunities elsewhere, they said.
The deal will increase Crown Oil’s headcount to more than 1,250.
Crown Oil, established by the Greensmith family more than 70 years ago, said it had worked with Star Oil “for some time”.
Matthew Greensmith, managing director of Crown Oil Group, said: “We’re excited to have announced this deal, which will see the Crown Oil family expanding once again.
“Star has been around for 20 years and, in that time, has built up a fantastic reputation for great service, which will fit in with Crown’s ideology of putting the customer first.
“We’ve worked closely with Christian and Michael and we were keen to take up this opportunity to safeguard the future of Star, and strengthen our North West footprint.
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“We are looking forward to building on these successes together and we wish Michael all the best for the future.”
Christian Hatherall will become senior operations manager of the business.
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He said: “I am delighted to see the completion of this deal, which has come about from the solid relationship we have built with Crown over the years.
“I look forward to seeing the business flourish and grow. Being part of that growth journey and working for the Crown Oil Group brand is a very exciting prospect for me.”
The deal is Crown Oil’s first purchase since 2018, when it added London-based Birlem Oil and West Midlands-based Beesley Fuels to its portfolio.