Sovereign backs Dalepak BIMBO

Kenny Wastell
19 April 2016

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Buy-and-build specialist Sovereign Capital has invested in the buy-in management buyout of UK logistics company Dalepak.

Upon completion of the deal, Dalepak will appoint Stewart Oades as chair. Oades was previously CEO of logistics company Christian Salvesen and a board member of DHL (at the time known as Excel).

The company will also appoint David Tracey, formerly commercial director of bed retailer Dreams, as CEO. During his six years with Dreams, Tracey was responsible for overseeing the company's supply chain and customer services activities.

The UK logistics sector has seen a flurry of private equity activity in recent months. In February, LDC backed the £175m secondary buyout of courier CitySprint from previous backer Dunedin. Two months later, the same GP acquired a significant minority stake in Panther Logistics, as part of a £17m management buyout.

Sovereign is currently investing from its fourth fund, a services-focused vehicle that held a final close on its £395m hard-cap in August 2014.

Debt
Crescent Capital provided a debt package to support the Dalepak deal.

Company
Founded in 1991, Northampton-based Dalepak is a logistics company offering warehousing, distribution, packing and freight forwarding services to the multi-channel retailing sector. It operates from four sites and has a total headcount of 265.

According to Sovereign, Dalepak's revenues have grown by 150% over the past three years.

People
Sovereign – Jeremy Morgan (partner); Simon Jobson (investment director); Trevor Stokes (investment manager).
Dalepak – Scott McGinley (COO); Nick Frogbrook (CFO); Stewart Oades (chairperson); Scott Merrick (IT director).

Advisers
Equity – Argyll Partners, Adrian Richmond, Alistair Lee (corporate finance, debt); Crescent Capital, James Burns, James Scott-Williams (debt); Eversheds, Mark Beardmore, Chris Archer (legal); Apex Insight, Frank Proud, Juan Sotolongo (commercial due diligence, IT due diligence); HMT, Andrew Thomson, Peter Wear, Antonia Fernandez; Holly Bedford-Bell (financial due diligence, tax); Vista, Gavin Ruben (insurance due diligence); Bondwoodhouse, Paul Phillips (other due diligence).