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Better Capital News
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Acquisition of Spicers UK & Ireland // 29 December 2011
The Fund completed the acquisition of the UK and Irish business of Spicers - a leading office products and stationery wholesaler.
Peter Williamson, a member of Better Capital LLP, will join the board as Chairman.
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Better Capital Fund II // 19 December 2011
Better Capital Limited ("the Company") today announces its intention to raise further capital through an issue of new 2012 Shares for investment in a new fund, Better Capital Fund II, to invest principally in UK and Irish turnaround opportunities.
£158 million has been raised under Firm Placing, with up to a further £42 million being made available to existing shareholders under the Offer and conditionally under the Placing.
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Half Yearly Report and Fundraising // 12 October 2011
Better Capital Limited (the 'Company') announces its interim financial results for the 6 month period ended 30 September 2011.
Richard Crowder, Chairman stated:
"The Company and the Better Capital Fund have enjoyed their most active six month period since inception. In the period to 30 September 2011, the Better Capital Fund deployed over £110 million into a number of investment opportunities. Some of these are platform acquisitions and some are follow-on investments.
After due and careful consideration the Board has decided to pursue a further fundraising in the coming months by way of a new segregated class of shares, deployed in a second Better Capital fund."
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Acquisition of DigiPoS Store Solutions // 22 July 2011
The Fund completed the acquisition of the issued share capital of DigiPoS Store Solutions Holdings Limited, which in turn owns and controls the wider DigiPoS trading group.
The investment follows the acquisition of the bank facilities of DigiPoS Store Solutions Group Limited and its subsidiaries.
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Acquisition of Fairline Boats // 12 July 2011
Better Capital Limited (the "Company") is pleased to announce that a company wholly owned by BECAP Fund LP ("BECAP"), has reached a formal agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland Plc ("RBS"), to acquire a majority stake in Masco 30 Limited, a new company set up solely for the purpose of acquiring 100% of the share capital of Fairline Boat Acquisitions Limited ("Fairline") and its subsidiaries (together the "Fairline Group").
Under the agreement, West Register (Investments) Limited, a company owned by RBS, will acquire a minority stake in Masco 30 Limited.
Fairline is a leading global brand specialising in the design, engineering, manufacture and distribution of luxury boats in the range of 38 to 80 feet. It sells its boats through an extensive independent dealer network in 69 locations worldwide and is headquartered in Oundle, Northamptonshire.
BECAP and RBS have committed £16.6 million and £3.9 million respectively to finance the transaction and to fund restructuring and working capital requirements.
Nick Sanders, a member of Better Capital LLP, will join the Fairline Group board as Chairman.
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Conditional commitment to acquire Spicers // 5 July 2011
Better Capital Limited is pleased to announce that on 5 July 2011 BECAP Fund LP (the "Fund") entered into an agreement to acquire the UK and Irish business of Spicers, a pan-European supplier of stationery and office products, which is currently a subsidiary of DS Smith Plc, from Unipapel SA. The agreement is conditional upon the proposed disposal of Spicers by DS Smith Plc to Unipapel SA being completed.
The Fund has committed £40 million to a wholly owned special purpose vehicle set up to effect the transaction.
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Acquisition of DigiPoS Store Solutions debt instruments // 4 July 2011
On 4 July 2011 the Fund acquired certain bank facilities and related rights of DigiPoS Store Solutions Group Limited and its subsidiaries.
The group supplies electronic point of sale hardware and software and provides related installation services. It is headquartered in the UK but has subsidiaries serving local markets throughout the world.
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Calyx Software makes two bolt-on acquisitions // 3 June 2011
On 3 June, 2011 Calyx Software Limited made two bolt-on acquisitions, creating the UK’s largest Microsoft Dynamics GP reseller with more than 500 customers.
The first acquisition comprised certain assets and obligations of a division of Touchstone Group Plc. (http://www.touchstone.co.uk/) This division of Touchstone is a leading supplier of integrated business software products to mid-sized UK organisations. The division had unaudited turnover for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 of £3.2m.
The second acquisition comprised the entire issued share capital of Trinity Computer Services Holdings Limited. (http://www.trinitycomputers.co.uk/) Trinity is a specialist developer of wholesale and distribution application software products, utilising Microsoft Dynamics GP as the core finance system, for mid-sized UK organisations. Trinity’s audited turnover for the financial year ending 30 September 2010 was £2.9m.
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Acquisition of Santia Group of Companies (wholly owned subsidiaries of Connaught Plc), leading provider of health and safety risk management services in the UK // 1 February 2011
On 1 February 2011 BECAP Fund LP acquired certain trade and assets of the Santia group of companies (wholly owned subsidiaries of Connaught plc, in Administration) and related subsidiaries. The Group is a leading provider of health and safety risk management services, including; health and safety consultancy, training services, occupational health, asbestos management, food safety, information services and supplier and vendor accreditation. The Group will continue to serve both private and public sector organisations.
The Fund committed £15.0 million to finance the acquisition and to fund the restructuring and working capital requirements.
Sean Cooper, a member of Better Capital LLP will join the boards of the acquisition vehicles.
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Gardner Group acquires Blade // 20 January 2011
On 20th January 2011 Gardner Group acquired the trade and certain assets of Blade Tooling Ltd and Blade Technology Ltd (in administration)
Blade is a Worcestershire based organisation that specialises in the manufacture and supply of complex aerofoil tooling, ceramic cores and wax mouldings to the aerospace and industrial gas turbine markets. Blade has considerable technical capability, adds significant value to its customers, and has ambitious plans to grow and develop its business.
Blade is a strategically adjacent diversification for Gardner. The Directors of Gardner believe that the acquisition of Blade will strengthen a number of Gardner's key commercial relationships, and that the exploitation of Gardner's existing infrastructure, systems and network will significantly improve the performance of Blade.The transaction confirms Gardner’s role in the continued consolidation of the aerospace manufacturing sector in which it operates.
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Acquisition of Calyx; a leading provider of ICT services in the UK and Ireland // 10 September 2010
On 10 September 2010 BECAP Fund LP financed the acquisition of the trade and assets of certain subsidiaries of Calyx, a leading provider of Managed ICT Services in the UK and Ireland. The Group’s principal divisions offer IT outsourcing, telecommunication carrier services and software solutions.
The Fund committed £17 million to finance the debt acquisition, the purchase of the business and assets and to fund the restructuring and working capital requirements.
The UK businesses were acquired from the Joint Administrators, being Geoffrey Rowley and Phillip Armstrong of FRP Advisory LLP. The Irish business was acquired from the Receiver, Tom Kavanagh of KavanaghFennell.
Nick Sanders and Sean Cooper of Better Capital LLP will join the boards of the acquisition vehicles.
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Gardner Group makes a bolt-on acquisition // 7 May 2010
On 7 May 2010 the group made a strategic, bolt-on acquisition comprising of certain assets and obligations of RD Precision Limited (In Administration), a manufacturer and supplier of precision tools and parts for the some of Gardner's key customers. The acquired business now trades as Gardner Aerospace - Broughton Limited.
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Acquisition of Reader's Digest UK; a direct marketing and publishing bisiness supported by an iconic brand // 9 April 2010
On 9 April 2010 BECAP Fund LP completed the business and assets acquisition of the UK operations of The Reader’s Digest Association.
Reader’s Digest UK is a direct marketing business selling books, music CDs, DVDs and other products to its customer base of around 600,000 individuals. It also publishes a monthly magazine which is sent to nearly half a million subscribers and regularly operates prize draws for large sums of money.
The business employs 100 people and is widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading marketers of magazines, books, music, video, financial services and healthcare products.
The deal secured the future of the business which went into administration in February 2010 as a result of significant UK pension liabilities. Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. has agreed to allow the UK operations to publish under the Reader’s Digest brand through a licence agreement.
Commenting on the acquisition, a spokesperson for the board said: “We are delighted to have completed the buyout and in doing so to have secured the future of a tremendously exciting business. We are now fully funded and debt free and can focus on bringing our customers all the services and products that they have such huge affection for. The iconic magazine and prize draw will continue but it should be remembered that these are just a part of a much larger business. There are tremendous opportunities for our businesses in financial services, books and healthcare and significant plans to expand all aspects of the Reader’s Digest business in the UK.”
Sean Cooper, a member of Better Capital LLP, has joined the board of the acquisition vehicle, Vivat Direct Limited.
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Better Capital launch party and office move // 3 March 2010
Better Capital hosted a memorable launch party just three days after moving to their new offices on the Charing Cross Road.
The event was spectacularly well supported with in excess of 450 people from across the business community in attendance.
The invitees were teased on the invite with what was to be an unusual display on the night. What they were greeted with was a dazzling display across a neon sign at the world famous Piccadilly advertising lights - a first for the Private Equity community! A national debt ticker with the word “Debtmageddon” stunned onlookers while a number of sadly relevant quotes scrolled across the vast screen.
The team would like to thank kindly everyone who made the effort to attend.
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Acquisition of Gardner Group; one of Europe's leading suppliers of aerospace components // 3 February 2010
On 3 February 2010 BECAP Fund LP financed the acquisition of Gardner Group Limited and its associated entities ("Gardner Group"). The Fund committed £22.5 million to finance the debt acquisition, the purchase of the business and assets and to fund the restructuring and working capital requirements.
Gardner is the UK's largest independently owned supplier of metallic aerospace details and sub-assemblies, and is one of the largest in Europe. Gardner is headquartered in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, UK and has seven manufacturing sites in the UK and two in Poland. Gardner's customers include Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN, BAE Systems and other major international companies in the aviation sector. Gardner also provides aerospace component repair services; fast turnaround 'late definition' services; and manufactures transmission components for truck gearboxes.
A spokesperson for Gardner, commented, "We are delighted to have secured Better Capital's investment in Gardner, which provides us with a solid financial base to exploit future opportunities and deliver our growth plans. Gardner's performance, reputation, technical skills and low cost production capabilities are now delivering enhanced and sustainable benefits to Gardner's strategic customers. Better Capital's investment in Gardner ensures the continued delivery of this offering."
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