Roompot

Investors

ABN AMRO Capital (AAC) has acquired Roompot, the Dutch holiday park operator, from Bencis Capital Partners. Financial details have not been disclosed. AAC will hold a majority stake in the company, with the management holding the balance as before with Bencis. AAC believes the European holiday park market offers attractive consolidation potential and has already built a presence in the UK market last year with the acquisitions of GB Holiday Parks (unquoteâ€, page 16, 29 November 2004) and Park Resorts (unquoteâ€, page 14, 24 January 2005). Therefore the team proactively sourced the deal from Bencis, which also allowed offers from a limited number of other interested parties, including trade buyers. AAC was granted exclusivity based on the above mentioned industry knowledge and experience of the UK holiday park market, and shared growth ambitions. A letter of intent was signed on 29 April, the deal was signed on 8 July, and completion is anticipated in August after approval from the NMA.Bencis, then the NeSBIC buyout fund, acquired Roompot in March 2003 (June 2003, page 14) and subsequently pursued a successful growth strategy resulting in doubling both sales and profitability. This growth was accomplished both through organic growth and acquisitions of other holiday parks, including Weerterbergen, de Katjeskelder and Kijkduin. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed at the time. Bencis took a 55% stake in the company; the management diluted theirs to 45%. Rabobank provided the debt package to help finance the deal, described as having a straightforward A/B senior facilities structure with working capital. Of the total value of the deal, 37% was equity, 63% was debt. The company was originally bought from the director/owner and some minority shareholders. There was no shift in the equity balance in the period between the original investment and the exit.

Debt structure

ABN AMRO underwrote the debt and mezzanine package after a competitive selection process in which five banks participated. Further details were not disclosed, but the debt/equity ratio is considered to be in-line with comparable transactions.

Company

Roompot is one of the largest holiday park operators in the Netherlands and has already established itself as an accomplished acquirer and integrator of businesses. Founded in 1965, the company now owns 24 parks and employs 750 staff. It will have a turnover of around E125m in 2005. Roompot CEO Henk van Koeveringe comments: 'ABN AMRO Capital has developed a great deal of knowledge in this sector. We have found the right partner to take Roompot to the next level and look out for suitable add-on acquisitions in both the Netherlands and abroad.' Marc Staal of AAC repeats this sentiment 'Roompot is excellently positioned to further accelerate growth, given its scalable business model and track record as a leading consolidator in the Dutch holiday parks market.' AAC will continue the buy-and-build strategy, looking at bolt-on acquisitions in the Netherlands and abroad. There are many family owned holiday parks at attractive locations for sale, which face, in many cases, succession issues.

People

Marc Staal worked on the deal for ABN AMRO Capital alongside Paul van Steijn and Olaf Tensen. Staal will join the non-executive board along with another AAC representative yet to be elected. Jeroen Pit and Jeroen Vos led the exit team for Bencis. Henk van Koeveringe is the CEO of Roompot.

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