Boardley & Roberts buys Midlands motors firm, Shoebridge & Sons
10 February 2026 
W H Shoebridge & Sons, the East Midlands electric motors business established more than a century ago, has been sold to Ipswich-based Boardley & Roberts for an undisclosed sum. Shoebridge was formed in 1919 and has been run by the same family ever since. Operating from sites in Northampton, Wisbech and Peterborough, it specialises in the sale and repair of electric motors, geared systems, associated products and spares.
Managing director Robert Shoebridge, the third generation of his family to run the businesses, has sold it because he is retiring. He wanted to sell the business to a buyer with a similar ethos to his own.
The new owner, Boardley & Roberts, was established in 1921. It primarily serves the East Anglian region and has been looking to grow to compete with national businesses on scale and capabilities. It distributes motors, gearboxes, fans and pumps, and offers services including rewinds and overhauls.
In 2001 Boardley & Roberts invested in a purpose-built 16,000ft2 (1,486m2) office and workshop complex in Great Blakenham, Ipswich, which can handle motors of any size, including Ex e and Ex d explosion-proof, and high-voltage types. It has warehouses in East Anglia and the Midlands holding more than £1m of stock, and distributes across the UK.
The Shoebridge sale was led by James Owen, a partner at the corporate finance adviser, Watersheds.
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