ISIS sells Enotria to BlueGem

Anneken Tappe
29 June 2012

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BlueGem Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in British wine trade supplier Enotria from ISIS Equity Partners.

The transaction generated a 2.6x multiple and an IRR of 34% for ISIS. Investec provided £25m in debt financing for the deal.

ISIS backed the management buyout of Enotria in 2005, when the investor acquired a majority stake for £8.2m. Equity was sourced from the ISIS III fund, while HSBC provided debt facilities for the transaction.

During the holding period, Enotria made three strategic bolt-on acquisitions: Wheeler Cellars, Select Vineyards and Great Western Wine Company.

Debt
Investec's debt package includes amortising and revolving debt which will be used for the MBO, as a source of refinancing, as working capital and to fund future add-on acquisitions.

Company
Enotria is a British wine trading business, founded in 1972. The company is based in London and Bath and employs 171 people. Enotria operates a warehouse in London and three other depots in Somerset, Yorkshire and Lanarkshire.

In 2011, the company's turnover amounted to £106m, compared to £47m in 2005.

People
Marco Capello, managing partner, led the deal on behalf of BlueGem. Mark Turner, parter at ISIS and former board member of Enotria, led the exit for the selling party. Alison Levett is managing director of Enotria.

Advisers
Equity – Dundas & Wilson (Legal); Alvarez & Marsal Europe (Financial, operational and tax due diligence); KPMG (Corporate finance); Willis Limited (Insurance due diligence).
Company – Deloitte (Corporate finance); Olswang (Legal).