A NOTTS firm which helps stop classrooms getting messy is set for a tidy future after a buyout deal.
Monarch Education Furniture, at Tollerton, makes and sells a range of trays, trolleys and cupboards used by schools and colleges.
It has also developed a specialist storage product for laptop computers, known as the LapCabby, which it exports all over the world
The firm was set up 25 years ago by husband and wife team Andy and Sandra Harrhy.
It's now being passed on to the next generation, with Mr and Mrs Harrhy selling the business to their daughter Emma Neath and co-director Stuart Hopkin.
Monarch employs 80 people, but planned expansion means staff numbers look set to rise to 100 by the summer.
Last year, the company's turnover reached £8.2 million, but joint managing directors Stuart and Emma believe it could top £9.5 million this year.
Their optimism is driven by a series of major contract wins with UK local authorities and further international growth for the LapCabby, which is already sold in Australia, Italy, France, Germany and Sweden. It has taken on a specialist international business development manager to drive sales in the US, the Middle East and Asia of a product that lets schools store and charge laptops safely.
The buyout deal will see Stuart and Emma hold an equal 40 per cent stake while Andy Harrhy retains 20 per cent of the business.
It has been made possible by a finance deal organised by HSBC which supported the buyout and the firm's working capital and business banking facilities.
Stuart Hopkin said: "Andy and Sandra had been looking for an exit from the business and Emma and I were confident that we could take it on but we didn't want to go down the private equity route, which would have significantly altered the culture of the company.
"HSBC were able to structure a package that was attractive to all parties and provides us with the finance to complete the acquisition and to support the business going forward."
Stuart has been with Monarch for 10 years, originally working on the accountancy side of the business but more recently also within operations, while Emma started in the sales office and is focused on sales and marketing. Stuart added: "This business is very much growing organically and we are not in a position where we have to chase growth. Demand for our products is at an all-time high and we are forecasting a very busy summer period.
"Combined with the continued internationalisation of the LapCabby product, the business is in a very robust position."
Monarch's directors worked with HSBC senior international commercial manager Paul Lynam, senior invoice finance business development manager Rob Horton and senior international business manager Jenny Parkes on the deal.
Nick Holloway, HSBC's Nottinghamshire area commercial director, said: "This management team know the business inside out and has clear plans of where they want to take Monarch. These attributes always contribute to the success of an MBO, so we were pleased to be able to support the transaction and welcome Monarch as a new customer to HSBC."