Volution Group reaches the largest acquisition agreement in its history with an Australian company

Volution Group has agreed to buy Australian company Fantech in its largest ever acquisition.

The ventilation products vendor has signed a deal worth a potential AU$280m (£144m) to acquire Melbourne-based Fantech from Elta Group.

Established in 1973, Fantech is a leading supplier of commercial and residential ventilation in Australia and New Zealand, with over 350 employees and 13 sales, warehousing and manufacturing sites.

Originally known as Air & Noise Equipment Group, the company’s brands include Ideal Air, Burra Steel and NCS Acoustics.

In the latest financial year covering the 12 months ending March 2024, Fantech reported revenues of £90.8m and profit before loss of £17.1m.

Volution said the purchase would help strengthen its market reach in Australasia, where it has maintained a presence since acquiring Simx in March 2018.

It also expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings immediately upon completion, and for the company to maintain its adjusted operating margin above its long-term target of 20 percent.

Volution CEO Ronnie George said: ‘This acquisition, our largest to date, gives Volution a great platform to continue our growth in Australasia.

‘The combination of Fantech’s strong and long-standing commercial presence in the region with increased access to Volution’s broad product portfolio provides us with an enviable platform for growth.’

Volution Group shares rose 10.8 per cent to 614p on Friday morning following the announcement of the deal, meaning they have expanded by around three-quarters over the past year.

Volution has enjoyed significant success in recent years, partly due to Covid-19 raising awareness among households and businesses about the downsides of poorly ventilated buildings.

Volution’s UK business has been further boosted by regulations requiring new-build homes to have a lower carbon footprint and offices to meet minimum energy efficiency standards.

Regulators have also been given more powers under the Social Housing Act to ensure landlords address unsafe conditions in their properties.