The owner of Celtic Linen has been bought by the UK's Johnson Service Group for €31.5m.
Celtic Linen services Ireland's healthcare and hotel, restaurant and catering ('HORECA') sectors and is the largest linen supplier to the Irish healthcare sector and is the second largest linen supplier to the HORECA sector.
Johnson Service Group said the deal for Harkglade Limited also includes the Millbrook Linen business.
The company said the deal is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing and in-line with its stated strategy of seeking out value accretive acquisitions and expanding its geographic coverage.
It added that Celtic Linen's existing management team will remain with the business.
Celtic Linen has about 350 employees and operates from two facilities - in Drinagh in Co Wexford and Naas in Co Kildare.
Similar to many businesses within the textile services industry, Celtic Linen was severely impacted by Covid-19 - albeit to a somewhat lesser extent given its exposure to the healthcare sector.
Trading results during the two financial years to December 2021 were negatively impacted.
But in its most recent financial year ended 1 January 2023, and despite the challenging economic environment, its trading performance improved significantly.
In the six months to July, the business continued to show significant year-on-year growth with revenue and adjusted EBITDA increasing to €16.7m from €12m the same time last year and €3.9m from €1.3m respectively.
Johnson Service Group said that since that date, the business has continued to show growth with the securing of several new contracts in both healthcare and HORECA.
Peter Egan, CEO of Johnson Service Group, said today's deal represents a further significant step in the company's strategy to expand the range and scale of services we offer.
"I have known Celtic Linen for many years and have been very impressed with the quality of the business, its reputation for excellent customer service and the growth it has achieved in recent years," Mr Egan said.
"The existing senior management team will remain with the business with Joanne Somers, Managing Director of Celtic Linen, reporting directly to myself," he added.
