Equistone acquires Willerby from Caird

Kenny Wastell
16 June 2017

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Equistone Partners Europe has acquired a majority stake in Willerby, a UK-based manufacturer of static holiday homes, from Caird Capital.

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though Equistone is currently investing from its €2bn fifth fund, which closed in April 2015 and targets European buyouts in the €50-300m region.

Prior to the sales process, a source close to the situation told unquote" sister publication Debtwire that the company was projected to achieve EBITDA of £13m in the 2017 financial year.

Under the vendor's tenure, the company invested in new product development and expanded its customer service and aftercare response activities. It also provided customers with funding products to enable them to display caravans and lodges in show grounds and holiday parks.

In 2016, Willerby refinanced £10m in Eurobonds through a medium-term loan provided by Lloyds Banking Group, according to publicly available documents. The new facility is repayable in instalments and will mature in April 2019. Following the refinancing, the business retained £12.5m in eurobonds, which were due to be repaid in full by April 2020.

Under Equistone's tenure, the company will continue to pursue an organic growth strategy. In particular, it will look to capitalise on the UK's ageing demographic and an increase in UK consumer demand for domestic holidays.

As recently reported by unquote", the UK holiday park sector has attracted significant interest from private equity players over the past few years, with British holidaymakers also responding to macroeconomic developments and geopolitical events. Most recently, special situations investor Rutland Partners invested in holiday lodge and park home manufacturer Omar Group in April 2017.

Debt
CVC Credit Partners provided a term debt facility to support the transaction.

Previous funding
Bank Of Scotland Integrated Finance provided a debt and equity package valued at £134.8m to support the buyout of Willerby (then known as Burndene Investments) in February 2004. Lloyds then acquired the business in 2008 as part of its buyout of HBOS, before Caird Capital took ownership of Willerby as part of a portfolio acquisition of 40 Lloyds-owned companies valued at a combined £332m.

Company
Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Hull, Willerby manufacturers static caravans and lodges. The company has a headcount of 900 across two manufacturing sites and serves both the retail and fleet markets.

In the year ending October 2016, the business generated a turnover of £147m, according to publicly available documents, with an operating profit before exceptional items of £7.3m, a year-on-year increase from £124.5m and £4m respectively. According to a statement issued by Equistone, the transaction was conducted on the basis of a £155m turnover.

People
Equistone Partners Europe – Andi Tomkinson (investment director); Richard Briault-Hutter (investment manager).
Willerby – Peter Munk (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Lincoln International (corporate finance); Marlborough Partners (debt advisory); Travers Smith (legal); EY (financial due diligence); OC&C Strategy Consultants (commercial due diligence); Newton Europe (corporate finance); PwC (financial due diligence).
Vendor – DC Advisory (corporate finance); DLA Piper (legal); LEK Consulting (commercial due diligence); PwC (financial due diligence).
Management – Jamieson Corporate Finance (corporate finance); CMS (legal).