WA Developments
Encyclopedia
W A Developments Holdings Ltd (also WA Developments and WADI) is the private investment holding company 73% owned by Andrew Tinkler, the Chief Executive Officer
of the Stobart Group
, and 27% owned by William Stobart
, the Chief Operating Officer
of the Stobart Group.
and railway infrastructure project contracts. The company gained a contract with Railtrack
(now Network Rail
). The business was incorporated as W. A. Developments Ltd.
, joined the business as a shareholding director, becoming a business partner with a 27% stake in WA Developments. Due to both of their first name's and being "William", William Andrew Tinkler became known as Andrew Tinkler to distinguish himself from William Stobart
.
Andrew Tinkler and William Stobart
are brother-in-laws as they married the Cleasby sisters they met in a pub whilst in their 20s. This means that Andrew Tinkler's children, Laura Tinkler and Adam Tinkler, and William Stobart
's children, April Stobart and Edd Stobart, are cousins.
Edd Stobart and April Stobart featured in Episode 7 of Series 2 of the Channel 5
TV programme Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers
, originally aired on 30 June 2011. Ed Stobart passed his HGV Class 2 driving licence through System Training, based opposite Carlisle Lake District Airport. April Stobart went along to the driving school to show her support on the day of his test.
Ed Stobart works part-time for the Stobart Group
as a gardener. He is also a professional Rugby union
player for the Sale Sharks
and plays for the Stobart Group
's Polo
team. April Stobart is an Accounts Administrator in the Carlisle Office of the Stobart Biomass Products division of the Stobart Group.
, a company 45% owned by William Stobart
, and 55% owned by William Stobart
's older brother Edward Stobart
. In effect, therefore, William Stobart
's stake in Eddie Stobart Ltd.
reduced from 45% to 27%. On completion of the acquisition in February 2004, Andrew Tinkler became Chairman and William Stobart
became Managing Director of Eddie Stobart Ltd.
, from Edward Haughey and re-named it Stobart Air Ltd, through a subsidiary called Stobart Air Holdings. The Airport was re-branded Carlisle Lake District Airport, and plans to develop the airport were announced.
, WA Developments appointed Royal Bank of Scotland
to discuss its options in 2007. French rival Norbert Dentressangle
said it would be interested in buying Eddie Stobart, but Andrew Tinkler preferred external investment, without a complete sale. The solution, announced on 15 August 2007, was to merge Eddie Stobart with the publicly listed property and ports company Westbury Property Fund, and to list Eddie Stobart on the London Stock Exchange
as the Stobart Group
.
The deal was structured so that W. A. Developments (International) Ltd. would sell the ultimate Eddie Stobart logistics holding company, Stobart Holdings, to the Westbury Property Fund for £137.7 million: £62 million in cash and £76 million in new Westbury Property Fund shares. The Westbury Property Fund would then re-name itself as the Stobart Group
. The shares were split along the lines of the WA Developments ownership, so Andrew Tinkler would own 20% and William Stobart
would own 8.5% of the enlarged Stobart Group, becoming Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Operating Officer
respectively.
In return, WA Developments would buy most of the Westbury Property Fund's commercial property
portfolio, Westbury Properties Ltd., through another subsidiary called WADI Properties Ltd, for £142.1 million in cash. The plan would be to sell the commercial property portfolio at a profit over the next two years.
announced that it would be buying the original W. A. Developments Ltd. civil engineering and railway infrastructure business from WA Developments for £10 million in cash.
The Stobart Group also entered into a £50,000 option to acquire Carlisle Lake District Airport from Stobart Air Holdings for £15 million (£2.5 million in cash and £12.5 million in new Stobart Group shares). This option was extended in July 2008 until January 2009 for a further £50,000.
In January 2009, Stobart Group
exercised its option to acquire Carlisle Lake District Airport from Stobart Air Holdings for £14 million (£1 million less than originally announced). Following an independent shareholder vote, the acquisition was completed in May 2009, and the purchase price was reduced to £9.9 million due to a fall in the value of Stobart Group shares.
Due to a fall in property values during 2007-2011, the Stobart Group announced an option to buy back Westbury Properties Ltd. from WADI Properties Ltd. expiring on 15 August 2011, as some of its properties, owned by a Westbury Properties Ltd. subsidiary, Moneypenny Ltd., were used by the Stobart Group for its operations.
franchises in the Ukraine
.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of the Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
, and 27% owned by William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
, the Chief Operating Officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
of the Stobart Group.
The original company
WA Developments was founded on 25 May 1993 by William Andrew Tinkler as WA Tinkler Building Contractors in Carlisle, with an initial capital investment of £500. The company was involved in civil engineeringCivil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
and railway infrastructure project contracts. The company gained a contract with Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
(now Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
). The business was incorporated as W. A. Developments Ltd.
William Stobart joins the business
In 2001, William Andrew Tinkler's school friend and brother-in-law, William StobartWilliam Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
, joined the business as a shareholding director, becoming a business partner with a 27% stake in WA Developments. Due to both of their first name's and being "William", William Andrew Tinkler became known as Andrew Tinkler to distinguish himself from William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
.
Andrew Tinkler and William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
are brother-in-laws as they married the Cleasby sisters they met in a pub whilst in their 20s. This means that Andrew Tinkler's children, Laura Tinkler and Adam Tinkler, and William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
's children, April Stobart and Edd Stobart, are cousins.
Edd Stobart and April Stobart featured in Episode 7 of Series 2 of the Channel 5
Channel 5
-In the Americas:*Channel 5 – Rosario, Argentine television station, founded in 1964, which broadcasts from the city of Rosario*Great Belize Television, Belize television station, known as "Channel 5", founded in 1991 and broadcasting from Belize City...
TV programme Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers
Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers
Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers is a documentary television programme series made by Princess Productions for Channel 5 and broadcast on Channel 5 .-About the show:...
, originally aired on 30 June 2011. Ed Stobart passed his HGV Class 2 driving licence through System Training, based opposite Carlisle Lake District Airport. April Stobart went along to the driving school to show her support on the day of his test.
Ed Stobart works part-time for the Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
as a gardener. He is also a professional Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player for the Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
and plays for the Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
's Polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
team. April Stobart is an Accounts Administrator in the Carlisle Office of the Stobart Biomass Products division of the Stobart Group.
Acquiring Eddie Stobart
In November 2003, it was announced that a WA Developments subsidiary, W. A. Developments (International) Ltd., would acquire the UK's best known road haulage company, Eddie Stobart Ltd.Eddie Stobart Ltd.
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
, a company 45% owned by William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
, and 55% owned by William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
's older brother Edward Stobart
Edward Stobart
Edward Stobart was a British haulage company owner who first became involved with his father's company aged 15 in 1969, and subsequently expanded it into one of the UK's most well known multimodal logistics companies, Stobart Group...
. In effect, therefore, William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
's stake in Eddie Stobart Ltd.
Eddie Stobart Ltd.
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
reduced from 45% to 27%. On completion of the acquisition in February 2004, Andrew Tinkler became Chairman and William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
became Managing Director of Eddie Stobart Ltd.
Eddie Stobart Ltd.
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
Buying Carlisle Airport
In May 2006, WA Developments acquired Haughey Airports Ltd, the owner of the 150-year lease of Carlisle AirportCarlisle Airport
Carlisle Lake District Airport or Carlisle Airport is located east northeast of Carlisle, Cumbria, England.Carlisle has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction, up to a maximum takeoff weight authorised of 12.5...
, from Edward Haughey and re-named it Stobart Air Ltd, through a subsidiary called Stobart Air Holdings. The Airport was re-branded Carlisle Lake District Airport, and plans to develop the airport were announced.
Listing Eddie Stobart on the Stock Exchange
Following the need for further investment in Eddie Stobart Ltd.Eddie Stobart Ltd.
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
, WA Developments appointed Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
to discuss its options in 2007. French rival Norbert Dentressangle
Norbert Dentressangle
Norbert Dentressangle is a major European transport, logistics, and freight forwarding company. It was founded in London in 1979, initially concentrating on cross-channel transport between France and the United Kingdom....
said it would be interested in buying Eddie Stobart, but Andrew Tinkler preferred external investment, without a complete sale. The solution, announced on 15 August 2007, was to merge Eddie Stobart with the publicly listed property and ports company Westbury Property Fund, and to list Eddie Stobart on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
as the Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
.
The deal was structured so that W. A. Developments (International) Ltd. would sell the ultimate Eddie Stobart logistics holding company, Stobart Holdings, to the Westbury Property Fund for £137.7 million: £62 million in cash and £76 million in new Westbury Property Fund shares. The Westbury Property Fund would then re-name itself as the Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
. The shares were split along the lines of the WA Developments ownership, so Andrew Tinkler would own 20% and William Stobart
William Stobart
William Stobart is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Stobart Group Limited.He currently lives in his newly built home at Peover Superior in Cheshire....
would own 8.5% of the enlarged Stobart Group, becoming Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and Chief Operating Officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
respectively.
In return, WA Developments would buy most of the Westbury Property Fund's commercial property
Commercial property
The term commercial property refers to buildings or land intended to generate a profit, either from capital gain or rental income.-Definition:...
portfolio, Westbury Properties Ltd., through another subsidiary called WADI Properties Ltd, for £142.1 million in cash. The plan would be to sell the commercial property portfolio at a profit over the next two years.
Selling WA Developments assets to the Stobart Group
On 10 March 2008, Stobart GroupStobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
announced that it would be buying the original W. A. Developments Ltd. civil engineering and railway infrastructure business from WA Developments for £10 million in cash.
The Stobart Group also entered into a £50,000 option to acquire Carlisle Lake District Airport from Stobart Air Holdings for £15 million (£2.5 million in cash and £12.5 million in new Stobart Group shares). This option was extended in July 2008 until January 2009 for a further £50,000.
In January 2009, Stobart Group
Stobart Group
Stobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
exercised its option to acquire Carlisle Lake District Airport from Stobart Air Holdings for £14 million (£1 million less than originally announced). Following an independent shareholder vote, the acquisition was completed in May 2009, and the purchase price was reduced to £9.9 million due to a fall in the value of Stobart Group shares.
Due to a fall in property values during 2007-2011, the Stobart Group announced an option to buy back Westbury Properties Ltd. from WADI Properties Ltd. expiring on 15 August 2011, as some of its properties, owned by a Westbury Properties Ltd. subsidiary, Moneypenny Ltd., were used by the Stobart Group for its operations.
Current business interests
Current WA Developments business interests include Next (clothing) and MothercareMothercare
Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
franchises in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
.
See also
- Edward StobartEdward StobartEdward Stobart was a British haulage company owner who first became involved with his father's company aged 15 in 1969, and subsequently expanded it into one of the UK's most well known multimodal logistics companies, Stobart Group...
- Stobart GroupStobart GroupStobart Group Ltd is a large British multimodal logistics company, with interests in Transport and Distribution, Estates, Infrastructure and Civils, Air and Biomass, through operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Belgium...
- Eddie Stobart
- Stobart Air
- Carlisle Lake District Airport