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Case study: PR strategy supports business sale

The campaign

Strategic comms can support the sale of an business, increasing its appeal to those on an acquisition trail and increasing its value.

Selwood is a classic example of a long-established and successful business that wanted professional strategic support as it began a long-term move to achieve a sale.

A family-owned business of 70 years’ standing, Selwood approached Polymedia with a clear business strategy for the next phase of their business, with a trade sale or securing private equity investment among the possible outcomes. Initially our remit was to develop visual branding and launch a global website alongside a campaign of strategic communications. 

The strategy that first to establish strong foundations and messages, before delivering those across a range of tactics and platforms to help position the business for its crucial step forward. 

The Polymedia strategy

The first step was to work closely with the leadership team at Selwood to establish key messages for the brand, and to fully understand the board’s growth ambitions and the business’s target audiences. 

The campaign then unfolded, step-by-step, always with those ultimate goals in mind. First came core messages centred around Selwood’s expertise, strong customer service and the quality and longevity of its products. 

A new website, designed and built after careful analysis of who would be using the site and why, incorporated these messages and better reflected Selwood’s position as a global leader. 

A rebrand process evolved and modernising the Selwood brand, logo and all its collateral, liveries, and signage to standardise these across the business and give the company a more modern, forward-looking, and corporate feel. 

Ongoing campaign

Once the foundations were in place, Polymedia worked closely with Selwood’s in-house marketing team to develop a consistent drumbeat of news and updates through the website, LinkedIn, and specialist press. 

Case studies were used extensively to showcase the business’s expertise. These strong foundations enabled Selwood and its parent company, Workdry International, to promote a strong brand and market presence during a period of intensive activity as it worked to deliver to the board’s strategy. 

These included the planned move of the CEO to a Chairman role and the introduction of his successor, the closure of the Selwood’s plant sales operation and the sale of its plant rental business as the business moved to focus on its core offering. 

The acquisition of a water treatment solutions provider, Siltbuster, was announced with an emphasis on Workdry – Selwood and Siltbuster together – as a leader in engineered water handling solutions and water treatment. 

Results

The strategy, managed and delivered over several years, paved the way for Selwood’s CEO and board to deliver on their ultimate goal – to secure investment in the business to enable its next-level growth domestically and internationally. 

In September 2022, Workdry International was acquired by independent fund manager Arcus Infrastructure Partners, taking over the controlling interest from the family owners and empowering the group to build on its track record by investing in innovation and new territories. 

Polymedia continues to support Workdry International and Selwood as they embark on this new phase.