Pimlico Plumbers, the upmarket home services business founded by Charlie Mullins from a second-hand van, has been snapped up by Neighborly of the US for as much as £145m, according to a report.
Mullins, who started Pimlico Plumbers more than 40 years ago, will sell his 90% stake, the Financial Times reported. The sale price of £125m to £145m means he will make more than £100m.
Neighborly is owned by KKR, the US private equity firm. The deal will give it 29 brands covering 19 services in nine countries. Mullins’s son Scott will keep a 10% stake in Pimlico Plumbers and will stay on as chief executive, the FT said.
Mullins, 68, launched the company in London in 1979 with a used van and a bag of tools. Plumbing and heating are its core businesses but the business has expanded to include electrical works, carpentry and other maintenance services.
Pimlico Plumbers grew by offering reliable services at premium rates as home ownership and London’s rental sector grew from the 1980s onwards. The company has also benefited from London’s transformation into a global city and property landbank for rich investors.
“I won’t need to clean any more blocked drains. I had to make a decision whether I wanted to work for another five to 10 years to grow the business [but] Neighborly can take it to the next level,” Mullins told the FT. He did not confirm financial terms of the deal, the FT said.
Mullins, known for his Rod Stewart-style hairdo, has donated regularly to the Conservative party but withdrew his support for the party over Brexit. He supported Boris Johnson when he became prime minister but has attacked the government’s hesitancy over imposing vaccine passports.
He said in January that Pimlico’s 400 workers would be required to have Covid-19 vaccines to do their jobs. Mullins dismissed about 30 employees in 2021 after they refused to return to the company’s London head office following the first English lockdown.
