Dunedin hits £240m for first close

Kimberly Romaine
11 January 2013

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Dunedin has held a stealth first close on ТЃ240m for its third buyout fund, indicating its target is comfortably within reach.

According to an RNS feed issued on behalf of the UK GP's quoted trust, the trust has pumped an additional £25m into the latest fund, bringing its total commitment to £50m. The RNS announcement revealed this to represent 21% of the vehicle's first close, which would therefore stand at £240m. The target is £250m, suggesting a final close is within comfortable reach for the firm.

The announcement followed a busy month for the GP which announced one MBO, one bolt-on and an exit. In December, Dunedin's CitySprint made its seventh bolt-on since the GP backed the business in 2010. The news came hot on the heels of the £34.5m MBO of Premier Hytemp, which itself was announced just days after Dunedin reaped 3x money when it sold etc venues to Growth Capital Partners.

The sale marked Dunedin's third exit of 2012, following the trade sales of WFEL, which generated a 2.4x multiple for the vendor, and Capula, which was announced just a week prior to the WFEL sale.

Dunedin's previous vehicle, Dunedin Buyout Fund II, closed in September 2006 with commitments of £250m. The firm's first buyout fund raised £54m in December 2002 and is fully invested.

Dunedin has more than £400m under management and comprises more than 20 institutional investors across Europe. The firm's investment trust is backed by more than 2,500 institutional and individual shareholders. Dunedin has 16 investment professionals in offices in Edinburgh and London.

Dunedin declined to comment on the fund.