James Irlam & Sons Ltd (later trading as James Irlam Logistics) was a British road haulage company founded in the 1940s by James Irlam. It was owned and run by the Irlam family until its acquisition by rival logistics firm the
Stobart Group
Esken Limited (), formerly Stobart Group Limited, is a British infrastructure, aviation and energy company, with operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is registered in Guernsey but has its operational head office in Londo ...
in April 2008 for £59.9 million.
History
The beginning
James Irlam & Sons Ltd was founded by James Irlam in the 1940s in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Following the development of
Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...
, the business relocated to
Chelford
Chelford is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, near to the junction of the A537 and A535 roads six miles (10 km) west of Macclesfield and six miles south-east of Knutsford, and is part of the Tatton constituency. The civil pa ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
. The business transported milk churns to Manchester dairies, and returned with corn supplies for local farms.
Ken Irlam takes over
His son, Ken Irlam, later took over the running of the firm. In 1964 the firm operated from just one truck.
Passing to the grandsons
The business later passed to Ken Irlam's four sons, David Irlam, Michael Irlam, Andrew Irlam and Stewart Irlam. David Irlam became Chief Executive, Michael Irlam became Managing Director, Andrew Irlam became Operations Director and Stewart Irlam became Finance Director. Andrew sold his 25% share of the business to his three brothers in 2004, to pursue ventures in commercial property.
By 2007, James Irlam had grown to such an extent that it had major clients including
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
,
B&Q,
Groupe Danone
A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation.
Air and aviation groups
The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches ...
,
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
,
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...
,
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
,
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
,
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
,
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021.
Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...
,
Golden Wonder
Golden Wonder is a British company that manufactures snack foods, most notably crisps. These include Ringos, Golden Wonder and Transform-A-Snack. Since 2006, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northern Irish company Tayto, after bei ...
,
Britvic
Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name, and several other brands.
Hist ...
and
GlaxoSmithKline
GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...
.
Sale to the Stobart Group
At the end of 2007, its rival, the
Stobart Group
Esken Limited (), formerly Stobart Group Limited, is a British infrastructure, aviation and energy company, with operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is registered in Guernsey but has its operational head office in Londo ...
(who shared some of the same clients as James Irlam), approached the Irlam family with a view to acquiring their firm. In January 2008, Ken Irlam died, and shortly afterwards, David Irlam, Michael Irlam and Stewart Irlam agreed to sell James Irlam & Sons Ltd and its subsidiary, Irlam Storage LLP, for a total consideration of £59.9 million to the Stobart Group.
The deal, announced on 10 March 2008 and completed on 4 April 2008, was for £36.2 million in cash, £10 million in new Stobart Group shares, and £13.7 million in Loan Notes. As a result, the Irlam family now own 2.88% of the enlarged Stobart Group. David Irlam also joined the Board of Directors of the Stobart Group as an Executive Director.
Initially, the James Irlam brand and livery were to remain, but James Irlam has since been completely integrated into the core Eddie Stobart Ltd business, and re branded under the core brand name Eddie Stobart. David Irlam stepped down from the Stobart Group Board of Directors on 8 March 2011, but remains with the Stobart Group in the same title of Executive Director.
Red Lorries.com Ltd
On 18 September 2012, Red Lorries.com Ltd was set up as a registered company with companies house. The directors of the company are David Irlam and Michael Irlam.
See also
*
Stobart Group
Esken Limited (), formerly Stobart Group Limited, is a British infrastructure, aviation and energy company, with operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is registered in Guernsey but has its operational head office in Londo ...
*
Eddie Stobart
Edward Pears Stobart (born 18 April 1929), better known as Eddie Stobart, is a British businessman who started an agriculture business in the late 1940s. This became ''Eddie Stobart Ltd'' in 1970 and expanded to a haulage company during the 19 ...
References
Irlam brothers sell to rival Eddie Stobart
External links
James Irlam Logistics Official Website
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Transport operators of the United Kingdom