K-Bro Linen Inc, the owner of the Fishers and Shortridge commercial laundry businesses in the UK, has announced on the Toronto Stock Exchange its plans to acquire Star Mayan Limited, creating a top three national laundry business in the UK.

This is transformative for K-Bro, building an international, balanced commercial laundry business that serves both the healthcare and hospitality sectors.

With an agreed consideration of £107 million (on a cash-free, debt-free basis, including a normalised level of working capital), the transaction is expected to complete in early June.

The combined UK business will employ around 2,000 staff in peak season and will operate from a total of 17 UK locations, from Perth in the North to Central London in the South.

This will immediately make K-Bro a major player in the UK healthcare laundry sector and provide a platform from which to grow its existing hospitality, workwear and cleanroom businesses on a national scale.

K-Bro’s UK managing director, Michael Jones, said: “This is a major milestone for K-Bro. I’m proud to say that, in less than 10 years, K-Bro is growing from its roots as Canada’s largest commercial laundry company to become an international player. Our business in the UK will now have national coverage, with 17 sites and serving both healthcare and hospitality.

“But more than that, it is assembling a powerful team with the drive and expertise to build further on the platform that it is creating.”

K-Bro, headquartered in Edmonton, Canada, was founded in 1954 and is the largest owner and operator of laundry and linen processing facilities in Canada. K-Bro provides a comprehensive range of general linen and operating room linen processing, management and distribution services to healthcare institutions, hotels and other commercial accounts.

Fishers, acquired by K-Bro in 2017, was established in 1900 and is an operator of laundry and linen processing facilities in Scotland and the North of England. Shortridge, acquired by K-Bro in 2024, has operated as a family-run business since the 1990s and has sites in Workington, Dumfries and Darlington. Linda McCurdy, director, president and chief executive officer of K-Bro said: “I am thrilled to announce our transformative acquisition of Star Mayan, K-Bro’s largest acquisition in our history. The acquisition, combined with K-Bro’s existing UK businesses, Fishers and Shortridge, creates a top three national platform in the attractive UK market serving both healthcare and hospitality customers.

“We entered the UK through our acquisition of Fishers in 2017 with a vision to build a national platform for growth in a large, fragmented and attractive market. This acquisition adds a leading UK-based healthcare-focused commercial laundry business, enhancing our revenue diversification by mix and geography. K-Bro is a leader in healthcare with over half a century of experience as an essential service provider and we’re excited to further support existing and new customers. Star Mayan and K-Bro have shared values in putting people first, being dependable partners and environmental stewardship and we’re excited to welcome the team to the K-Bro family.”

Michael Jones, managing director at K-Bro UK