Cumbrian agriculture and engineering giant Carr’s Group has snapped up Barrow-based NW Total Engineered Solutions Limited in a £9.6 million deal.

The Carlisle-headquartered group – which includes Bendalls Engineering – said it had acquired the entire issued share capital of NW Pump and Valve Limited, the holding company of NW Total – which works in the nuclear defence, nuclear decommissioning and nuclear power generation markets.

Carr’s Group said the acquisition would enhance its capabilities, particularly in the nuclear market, by bringing its technical competencies and high-skilled workforce into its engineering fold.

NW Total – which was founded in 1994 – is set to play a role in the manufacture and supply of complex pressure vessels, heat exchangers and fluidics technologies as well as provide design and project management services, said Carr’s Group.

They will bring with them a long-standing trusted relationships with key tier one operators, it added, which include supporting the £31 billion UK Dreadnought submarine programme being delivered by BAE Systems in Barrow.

The company has been acquired for an initial cash consideration of £6m, with further contingent cash consideration of up to a maximum of £3.6 million payable over the next three years, based on the achievement of agreed financial targets.

The former owners of NW Total will remain in the business to drive future growth.

Carr’s Group chief executive, Tim Davies, said: “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of NW Total, which significantly expands our expertise and capabilities in engineering across multiple sectors.

“NW Total has built an excellent reputation for providing industry leading engineering services to important customers within the nuclear defence, decommissioning and adjacent markets.

“The acquisition provides significant opportunity for us to cross-sell our existing services and for NW Total to partner with other businesses within our Engineering division, as it fulfils its potential and capitalises on the significant opportunities in its markets.

“NW Total has an excellent management team in place who have a strong track record of delivering profitable growth and we look forward to working with them to take the business through its next stage of growth.”

Ian Brown, managing director of NW Total, added: “We are delighted to have become part of Carr’s Group.

“Carr’s has been very successful operating in similar markets to ours and the opportunity to cross sell and to work off a bigger platform could not be more compelling.

“This is a great opportunity for us to take the business to the next level and, with Carr’s history of investing behind their acquisitions, we believe the future is very exciting. We are very much looking forward to working with the Carr’s management team over the months and years ahead to help drive the growth in the global Engineering division.”

In addition to the acquisition, Carr’s Group said it would invest further in NW Total through the recruitment of addition expertise relating to business development and operating efficiency in a bid to boost its profitability further.

NW Total recorded a £9.1m turnover in the year ended March 31, 2019, and a pre-tax profit of £1.5m.

It had gross assets totalling £6.6m in the same year.