Endless buys school and nursery supplier Findel Education

Harriet Matthews
20 April 2021

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Endless has acquired UK-based school and nursery products e-commerce business Findel Education from Studio Retail Group (SRG) in a ТЃ30m deal.

Findel's management team, comprising Chris Mahady (CEO), Mark Whittaker (CFO) and Martin Jones (chief information officer), led the MBO.

Paul McClenaghan, CEO of fellow Endless portfolio company Victoria Plum, will join as chair following the acquisition.

SRG intends to focus on its core business following the sale. It plans to use proceeds from the divestment to make a voluntary payment to the company's defined pension scheme and to reduce its debt. The company has also made a working capital facility of £2m available to Findel, with interest of 4.6% per annum and a termination date of 30 September 2021.

The company announced in December 2019 that Findel would be sold to educational resource supplier Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) for £50m. However, the sale was called off in November 2020 following concerns from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that the deal would leave educational institutions in a worse position, with fewer alternative suppliers available and worse purchase terms.

Findel is the first investment from the GP's £400m Endless V vehicle. The fund held a final close in November 2020 and follows the strategy of the GP's predecessor funds, which generally focus on UK-based mid-market businesses with revenues of £10-500m, making buyout, turnaround and carve-out deals.

Endless also intends to make additional funding available for M&A opportunities and will continue to focus on Findel's ongoing digitalisation, the GP said in a statement.

Education provision businesses, of which Findel's client base is comprised, are expected to benefit from a number of promising trends and demographic developments. Institutions such as schools and universities have been viewed as stable assets amid pandemic uncertainty, as reported by Unquote.

Company
Founded in 1817 and headquartered in Hyde, Cheshire, Findel Education supplies a range of products and resources for schools and nurseries across its GLS, Hope, Philip Harris and Davies Sports brands. Its products include stationery, furniture and sports equipment, as well as facilities management and curricular resources. The company serves both UK-based and international organisations.

Findel posted revenues of almost £80m and operating profit of £2.5m in 2020, compared with revenues of £82m and operating profit of almost £2.3m in the previous year.

People
Endless – Andy Ross (partner); David Isaacs, Stefan Nowakowski (associate directors); Adam Keasey (director); Linda Nguyenova (investment manager).
Findel Education – Chris Mahady (CEO).
Studio Retail Group – Paul Kendrick (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Stifel Nicolaus (corporate finance).
Equity – Walker Morris, Debbie Jackson, Adrian Moss (legal); Alantra, Keith Pickering (corporate finance); Palladium, Dan Shreeve (technology due diligence); KPMG, Steve Heath (tax).