German building technology specialist and smart building pioneer Gira based near Düsseldorf, has acquired Wandsworth, manufacturer of switch ranges and emergency call systems for healthcare.

By acquiring Wandsworth, Gira hopes to sustainably tap into the growth potential of the British market and expand its market position.

Founded in 1904, Woking based Wandsworth employs 110 people and has two business divisions “Wandsworth Electrical” and “Wandsworth Healthcare”.

Adam Sherry, owner and chief executive of Wandsworth since 2013, will continue to run the company for the next few years at both parties’ request.

In a personal letter to the Wandsworth staff Dirk Giersiepen, managing partner of Gira, and Dominik Marte, managing marketing and sales director (from 1 March 2022) commented “When two healthy, successful and independent family businesses come together with different strengths that complement each other in a special way, it is an ideal launchpad for growth and success. And when the culture, values and aspirations of both companies are as closely related as they are at Wandsworth and Gira, then this can only be a success story,”

Smart building specialist Gira sells systems in 40 countries and has been active in the UK since 2011.

“The brand recognition of Wandsworth, its large customer network, and its sales strength in the UK will allow us to access the British market in a completely different way than before,” commented Gira’s managing director marketing and sales, Dominik Marte.

In turn, Wandsworth will benefit from expertise in electronics, smart building and software that has accumulated in the Gira Group.

“Wandsworth has little in-house expertise in these areas, which will continue to gain importance in our industry. Working together in the Gira Group will open up new opportunities for us on the product side,” explained Wandsworth CEO Adam Sherry.

For example, building automation KNX technology will be available to Wandsworth in future for integration into its product range.  

Both Gira and Wandsworth also see opportunities to generate synergies in international sales. “This will create opportunities for us to offer our products in international markets via Gira’s sales organisations,” said Adam Sherry.

In addition to Gira and Wandsworth, the Gira Group also includes holdings in electronics specialist Insta, software incubator ISE, plastics specialist Stettler, and start-up Senic.