Why it matters

Drake & Farrell had to become a company that could be acquired with confidence: less founder-dependent, less exposed to one customer, easier to run and credible as a growth platform. The work connected succession, digital backbone, leadership, customer depth and focused growth.

Starting point

Drake & Farrell was founded by Jan Flens in 2006. It had built a commercially successful project and contract business in marketing displays, packaging and reverse logistics, anchored by one major telecom customer.

By 2018, Jan wanted to step away and sell. The business was profitable, but not investable on acceptable terms: concentration was high, diversification had been opportunistic, decision-making still sat with the founder, IT and administrative workflows were outdated, and the second leadership layer was not yet autonomous.

Mandate

David had known Jan since around 2010. He agreed to take over only as an active shareholder with the authority to rebuild the company. Jan stepped out of the CEO role and David became CEO and co-owner in 2020.

The mandate was to reduce founder and customer dependence, create a scalable operating platform, build credible growth paths and prepare the company for a full exit.

What changed

– Rebuilt the technology function under senior leadership, shifting it to a cloud-first, application-led model with a modern core platform, APIs and low-code applications.
– Professionalised the organisation through clearer roles, accountability, salary bands, recruitment channels, HR processes and stronger leadership.
– Made customer ownership everyone’s responsibility and deepened the anchor relationship until Drake & Farrell was recognised as a top-tier supplier and partner.
– Focused growth on reverse logistics, refurbishment and circular electronics, then transferred that model into e-mobility with customers including EVBox and Eneco eMobility.
– Aligned shareholders around reinvestment, value creation and a full exit, and prepared the team and process for sale.

Value created

– Approximately 65% revenue growth before exit.
– A substantial improvement in profitability.
– Lower founder, key-person and customer-concentration risk.
– A modern digital backbone and a leadership team capable of operating with greater autonomy.
– A successful sale to the Waterland-backed Logicall Group, closed in May 2024.
– A stronger operating platform that continued through integration and handover after David stepped out in the first quarter of 2026.