BDC divests Beck & Pollitzer to Graphite

The transaction represents a 1.7x money multiple for BDC, unquote" understands. It also marks the fifth consecutive period for the business under different private equity owners.

Under its new owners, Beck & Pollitzer will look to grow by expanding its range of services into new industrial sub-sectors. In a statement, the company also said it was considering geographic expansion via a buy-and-build strategy.

Beck & Pollitzer's management team has re-invested a share of its sale proceeds as part of the deal.

The transaction marks the sixth investment from Graphite's £500m eighth fund, which held a final close in September 2013 after just six months on the road.

Under BDC's tenure, the company focused on operational improvements, with a particular focus on staff training and increasing the volume of repeat custom from its existing clients.

Debt
RBS and HSBC provided a debt package to support the transaction.

Previous funding
Schroder Ventures first acquired Beck & Pollitzer in 1994 from Transport Development Group in a deal valuing the business at £10.1m, according to unquote" data.

Four years later, Gresham Private Equity acquired the business via a £28.8m buy-in management buyout. Gresham invested £7.2m in the deal, with Bank of Scotland providing debt facilities to support the transaction.

Lloyds Banking Group's Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance (BOSIF) then backed the £28.8m tertiary buyout of the company in December 2004.

Beck & Pollitzer then entered its fourth consecutive period of private equity ownership when Hermes Private Equity acquired it in 2007 for £55m. BOSIF achieved an overall equity return of 2.9x, equating to an IRR of 48%.

Bridgepoint has managed the business since 2009, when Hermes transferred responsibility for its direct private equity investments to the firm.

Company
Headquartered in Dartford and founded in 1863, Beck & Pollitzer is an industrial machinery installation and relocation business. It primarily focuses on the automotive, aerospace, metals and packaging industries, and has a client list including Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls Royce, Rexam and Kimberley Clark.

Beck & Pollitzer has 26 offices across 14 countries and has a total headcount of around 600. It anticipates a turnover of £80m in 2016, a year-on-year increase of 10%.

People
Bridgepoint Development Capital – Mark Stroud (partner).
Graphite Capital – Mike Innes (senior partner); Simon May (partner); John Western (investment manager).
Beck & Pollitzer – Andrew Hodgson (chief executive).

Advisers
Equity – DC Advisory, Andrew Cunningham, Manuel Sammut, Edward Godfrey, Ajay Patel (corporate finance, debt); Macfarlanes, Ian Martin, Chris Lawrence, Adam Levine (legal); BDO, Derek Neil, Lewis Winston (financial due diligence); AT Kearney, Alberto Fumo, Nick Raper (commercial due diligence); Deloitte, Mark Steele (IT due diligence); PwC, Gavin Stoner, Richard Cousins, Dinesh Yogendra, Andrew Smith, Waifoong Ng (tax, pension due diligence); Arthur J Gallagher, George Minoprio (insurance due diligence).
Vendor – Roland Berger, Anand Raghavan (commercial due diligence); Lincoln, Phil McCreanor, Vicki Mortimer (corporate finance); Travers Smith, Helen Croke (legal).
Management – DLA, Tom Heylen, John Pryor (legal); Cornerstone, Ben Hewetson, David Lilley (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Support services
• United Kingdom
• Bridgepoint
• Graphite Capital