NorthEdge acquires Prohire in MBO

Kenny Wastell
25 April 2018

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NorthEdge Capital has acquired a majority stake in UK-based fleet management company Prohire Group via a management buyout.

Following the deal, the company will explore potential acquisitions, expand its sales activities and invest in the development of its technology platform, ProVision.

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though the GP is currently deploying capital from its second fund, which held a final close in March 2016 on £300m and typically writes equity cheques of £5-45m.

The transaction comes 16 months after Prohire acquired Sunrent, expanding its fleet to 3,500 vehicles.

As part of the deal, NorthEdge director Phil Frame and investment executive Greg Holmes will take seats on the Prohire board as non-executive directors.

Company
Headquartered in Stoke-on-Trent and founded in 1997, Prohire provides contract hire, short-term rental, maintenance, fleet management and accident management services for commercial vehicles. The business has an additional office in Tunbridge Wells.

According to a statement, the company increased its turnover by 20% this year, to around £40m. In the year ending in March 2017, it generated a turnover of £29.8m and EBITDA of £2.1m, according to publicly available documents. Prohire has a headcount of 70.

People
NorthEdge Capital – Phil Frame (director); Greg Holmes (investment executive); Dan Matkin (investment manager).
Prohire Group – Dave Barlow (managing director).

Advisers
Equity – DWF, Jonathan Robinson, Vicky Thomas (legal); Dow Schofield Watts, Rob McCarthy (financial due diligence); Teneo Consulting, Simon Bones (commercial due diligence); PwC, David Burke (tax).
Company – Deloitte, Andy Westbrook, Chris Wildsmith, Oliver McRae, Jeremy Thomas (corporate finance, financial due diligence); Thinking Legal, Jo Bligh (legal).