Palatine acquires CET UK from Dunedin

Kenny Wastell
26 November 2018

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Palatine Private Equity has acquired a majority stake in CET UK, a provider of infrastructure and property assurance services, from Dunedin.

Palatine drew capital from its third flagship fund, which closed on £220m in 2015 and typically writes equity cheques of £10-30m.

According to publicly available documents, Dunedin held a 70% stake in the business via Equity Harvest Fund, a £56m vehicle that closed in 2004.

Following the deal, the company's property assurance division will invest in new technology to improve efficiency in claim management and investigation. Its infrastructure arm will launch new testing facilities across the UK.

Under the vendor's tenure, the company has undertaken an acquisitive growth strategy, most recently bolting on drainage specialist TriAqua in April 2018. CET will continue to pursue bolt-ons and expand its geographic footprint.

Debt
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Acquisition Finance and Beechbook Capital provided debt and working capital facilities to support the transaction.

Previous funding
Dunedin backed the management buyout of CET Group in 2005.

Company
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Castle Donington, CET UK provides infrastructure and property assurance services. According to the aforementioned documents, CET generated a turnover of £32.5m in the year ending in March 2018, with an operating profit of £595,000.

People
Palatine Private Equity - Tony Dickin (partner); Richard Thomas (head of Midlands); Tom Hustler (investment manager).
Dunedin – Katie Chung (investment manager).
CET UK - Peter Eglinton (CEO).

Advisers
Equity - Alantra (corporate finance); Browne Jacobson (legal); Grant Thornton (financial due diligence); CIL (commercial due diligence); JLT (insurance due diligence).
Vendor - Clearwater International (corporate finance); Gateley (legal).
Debt - Pinsent Masons (legal).