Trimountain et al. in SBO of Red from KPAM

Kenny Wastell
09 April 2019

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Trimountain Partners, Ashridge Capital and Downing have supported the management buyout of UK-headquartered driving school operator Red Driving School from Kelso Place Asset Management.

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though Trimountain typically makes equity investments of £5-50m. The group's underlying parent company, Driving Success, generated an operating profit of £1.4m from a turnover of £12.7m in the year ending in July 2018, according to publicly available documents.

Trimountain led the consortium, while Ashridge will jointly manage the investment, according to a statement.

Under the vendor's tenure, the company hired former president of AAK's west division, Ian McIntosh, as CEO. Red will look to consolidate its position in the market under its new owners.

Previous funding
Kelso acquired the business and assets of LVG from administrators for an undisclosed amount in 2010. The transaction included the Red Driving School, Red Instructor Training and Red Fleet Training brands, which were held under newco Driving Results.

Company
Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Billingham, County Durham, Red is a driving school and operates a training programme for driving instructors. The business employs 1,500 instructors.

People
Trimountain Partners – Ali Khanbhai (partner, co-founder).
Ashridge Capital – David Sherratt (CEO, founder).
Kelso Place Asset Management – Sion Kearsey (managing partner).
Red Driving School – Ian McIntosh (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Grant Thornton (corporate finance); Shoosmiths (legal).
Equity – Mishcon de Reya (legal); Grant Thornton (financial due diligence, tax); Rees Pollock (tax); Aon (insurance due diligence).