RJD acquires Babington from Bridges in £22m deal

Kenny Wastell
18 April 2016

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RJD Partners has acquired British vocational training company Babington Group from Bridges Ventures in a ТЃ22m secondary buyout.

Babington's management team has taken a minority stake as part of the transaction, while RJD partner Alex Hay and investment director Jill Williams will take a seat on the board.

Following completion of the deal, Babington will look to expand by investing in new training centres across the UK and expanding its training remit into new sectors, such as digital media.

Yorkshire Bank provided a senior debt package to support the transaction.

The acquisition marks the second investment from RJD's third buyout fund, a 2015-vintage vehicle with a target of £150m. In February, the fund committed up to £11m towards the management buyout of Dover-based marine engineering business Burgess Marine.

Previous funding
Bridges first invested in Babington in December 2009, as part of a management buy-in. At the time the company generated a turnover of £2.4m.

Under the GP's tenure, Babington undertook an acquisitive growth strategy, acquiring Training for Today in August 2012. Bridges provided acquisition finance to support the deal.

Company
Founded in 1974 and headquartered in Derby, Babington is a provider of vocational training courses and apprenticeships for sectors including accounting, finance and business administration.

People
RJD Partners – Richard Caston (founding partner); Alex Hay (partner); Jill Williams (investment director); Hugo Strachan (investment executive).
Babington – Carole Carson (chief executive).

Advisers
Equity – Osborne Clarke, Mark Spinner, Mark Saunders, Erika Jupe (legal, tax); Clearwater International, Paul Newell, Rob Burden (management due diligence); PwC, Ian Koxvold, Hugh Lloyd Ellis (financial due diligence, commercial due diligence).
Vendor – Grant Thornton, Keely Woodley, Victoria Giles (corporate finance).