Portakabin: Sales surge for Portaloo inventor ahead of £1.5bn sale

Sales jumped by more than £80m at the group behind modular buildings company Portakabin in the year it sold the brand in a deal which transformed its Yorkshire owners into billionaires.

York-headquartered Shepherd Group sold Portakabin in June 2024 to French investor Antin Infrastructure Partners for a price reported to be more than £1.5bn. The deal was the fourth investment of Antin’s Flagship Fund V.

The company was founded in 1890 by Frederick Shepherd and remained in the family until the sale earlier this year.

As well as the Portakabin, the group invented the Portaloo toilet units now widely used at festivals and sporting events.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have now revealed that Shepherd Group’s turnover surged from £393.6m to £476.4m in 2023.

The results also show that its pre-tax profit dipped from £73.2m to £66.1m over the same period.

During the year the average number of people employed by the board also rose from 1,929 to 2,130.

Shepherd Group acquired Darwin Group for a net consideration of £59m in the year.

In separately-filed accounts for Portakabin, the brand said: “The group will continue its pan-European growth with further investment in fleet and infrastructure, with controlled growth expected in both hire and sales and in improving the overall European footprint.

Portakabin itself issued a dividend of £30m in the year, the same total as in 2022, while Shepherd Group cut its dividend from £13.8m to £9.7m.

As well as its UK operations, Portakabin has branches in Belgium and Luxembourg.

At the time the deal was confirmed, in April this year, Portakabin CEO Dan Ibbetson said: “We are excited to welcome Antin as a long-term partner and leverage its resources to accelerate our growth trajectory.

“With Antin, Portakabin is well-positioned to further reinforce its position as a champion of modular infrastructure solutions in the coming years as we continue to deliver best-in-class solutions to our customers.”