5th April 2008
Dow Schofield Watts has advised the shareholders on the sale of the company to the Management Team (MBO) from the existing family shareholder base. This included arranging an ABL facility with KBC Business Capital and insured Deferred Loan note provided through DFL with Mitsui Sumitomo.
The family shareholders have retained a minority stake. The existing management team of Paul Oliphant, Andrew Wilkins and Mike Ruston will remain as the key board members, in additional Paul Berry has been taken on as Financial Director.
KBC Business Capital, the specialist asset based lending division of Belgium banking Group KBC Bank NV which funds mid-sized businesses in the UK, and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI); provided the funding for the deal, initiated by Dow Schofield Watts LLP, together with provision for significant future growth.
Paul Oliphant, who now takes the position of Group Chief Executive, stated, “Over the last 10 years our Company has developed very successfully from a small UK based family owned Company to an International Group operating extensively across Europe, Middle East and Africa with annual sales of over £100m”. “We plan to continue that growth by extending our business model of technical sales distribution of specialist products allied with a broad toll manufacturing and contract packaging service, to all territories in which we are active. We will continue to focus on innovation and improvement whilst maintaining the core values that our business has been built on.”