The CRS Group has been acquired by Coolworld Rentals

The CRS Group has been acquired by Coolworld Rentals, an Arcus Infrastructure Partners portfolio company. The founding family behind CRS will become shareholders in the wider Coolworld Rentals pan-European group and will continue in leadership positions in the business.

The CRS Group is a leading provider of modular cold storage solutions in Ireland and the UK. It upgrades and refurbishes new and used refrigerated shipping containers into high-spec modular temperature-controlled storage units. These units form a critical component of the cold chain and are used predominantly by customers in the food and pharmaceutical sectors. CRS has invested in R&D and now boasts a range of high-spec cold storage products from three sites across the UK and Ireland. In 2020, the Irish private equity firm Renatus Capital Partners made a significant minority investment into CRS and partnered with Tyrrells to support the company’s growth plans.

Coolworld Rentals is a European specialist in industrial temperature control asset rental solutions. Backed by Arcus Infrastructure Partners in 2023, Coolworld is an essential infrastructure partner to companies across the cold chain. It is currently active in six Northwest European countries, providing mission-critical, value-added rental solutions of temperature control assets from six sites. Coolworld’s primary asset segments include modular cold storage, industrial chillers for process cooling and integrated climate control units. It provides its asset rental solutions to a wide range of core industrial end markets, including the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, cold chain logistics and facility management customer segments.

Oaklins’ team in Ireland acted as the sell-side M&A advisor to the majority shareholders and management of CRS on their sale to Coolworld Rentals. CRS has been a long-term client of Oaklins in Ireland, having previously advised on the partial sale to Renatus Capital Partners in 2020.