Turbulent Marriage

In our last issue we profiled the history of Seddon now we resume the story as the company merges with rival Atkinson and heads into troubled times

- Norman Chapman

Seddon and rival Atkinson were doing well in 1970, both manufacturers having begun the decade with more than 12 months of guaranteed work in their order books. But beneath the surface things were different.

In 1969 Seddon had a turnover of £10.6 million. However, its net profits were only £457,000. In the same year, Atkinson turned over £9.3m but its bottom line was a depressing £177,000. For Atkinson, this predicament was viewed by some as making it ripe for a takeover – a possibility because, back in 1948, Atkinson’s owners, the Allen family, had floated the Preston-based company on the Stock Exchange.

A takeover battle began in June 1970, when ERF made a bid for Atkinson, followed by a counter-bid from Foden. Both parties continued with further bids and counter-bids but eventually Seddon made a much more desirable offer, valuing Atkinson at approximately £5m – about £800,000 better than ERF’s pitch. In November 1970 Seddon’s bid was successful and Atkinson came under Seddon ownership. Most of the transport industry saw this as a bizarre role reversal of what might have been.

Although this happened when the UK had more truck manufacturers than you could shake a stick at, it was also in the days of an invasion by the Scandinavians and the Dutch, not forgetting the German manufacturers, who already had a foothold and also saw the opportunity to concentrate efforts in the UK market. Atkinson’s management were bewildered by the situation and a lot of bad feeling emerged towards the new owners.

Long histories