International law firm Gowling WLG has advised client Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) on the acquisition of M J Wilson Group Limited (MJ Wilson), the leading independent UK distributor of process instrumentation and control products.

The transaction was led by Corporate, Finance and Tax partner Ian Piggin, Jade MacDonald and Stephen Bowman with support from a cross-firm team including Fabiano Iesini (corporate), Anna Colley (property), Michael Murphy (tax) and Matt Owen (banking).

Founded in 1972, MJ Wilson is a leading distributor of maintenance, repair and overhaul components (MRO), seller of highly technical process and instrumentation products and provider of calibration and repair services. Headquartered in Grimsby, MJ Wilson has five regional branches and a number of specialist staff who provide best in class service and rapid delivery of critical components to a diverse range of long-standing, blue-chip customers across the UK.

The acquisition marks the first in an accelerated programme of investment for Cairngorm Capital, in partnership with Ian Ritchie and his management team, into technically focused UK companies across the MRO sector and the second platform investment for its second fund Cairngorm Capital II, which closed in April 2017. The transaction is Cairngorm Capital’s 11th proprietary transaction since July 2016.