Regional law firm Birketts has advised the vendors on the sale of a leading ventilation maintenance and ductwork cleaning company.

National operator Ductclean, based at Welwyn Garden City, has been acquired by Marlowe plc, the AIM-listed outsourced services specialist based in London.

Birketts, which is based in Ipswich and also has offices in Chelmsford, Cambridge and Norwich, advised on all legal matters including support on tax, property and employment.

Adrian Seagers, partner and head of corporate services, led the transaction with assistance from Stephanie Newman, Corinne Spencer, Laura Ing-Beaufils, Emma Medina and Karl Pocock.

The deal, valuing Ductclean at up to £10m, was agreed last week and is due to complete on July 31.

Customers of Ductclean include national hotel and leisure providers, airports, NHS trusts, universities and local authorities.

“The acquisition of Ductclean significantly extends the scope of Marlowe plc’s activities into a new complementary service sector,” said Nigel Jones, managing director of Ductclean.

“Birketts has an excellent reputation for providing high quality legal advice and client service. The team, under Adrian’s leadership, ensured that we were well advised throughout and worked tirelessly to achieve our goal.”

Adrian Seagers added: “I am delighted that we have secured the sale of Ductclean and look forward to seeing the continued development of Marlowe into the UK’s leading provider of critical asset maintenance services.

“This transaction demonstrates once again the depth of skill, service range and resource that enables Birketts’ highly-skilled lawyers to deliver complex transactions of this nature.”