Private equity firm takes £21m stake in Leicestershire housebuilder
A Birmingham private equity firm has taken a stake in Leicester housebuilder Westleigh.
The deal is the first transaction from Palatine’s Midlands office following its launch in December last year.
Westleigh has a turnover of around £100m, with EBITDA of more than £9m during the financial year to March 31, 2016. The company says sales will rise to over £165m by 2018.
Westleigh currently employs around 300 staff, builds 1,200 properties per year and has developments in locations from Northampton in the south, to Sheffield and Grimsby in the north and east.
The deal represents a partial exit for the founders Chris and Judy Beighton and the business will continue to be led by Ian Jones, who joined 20 years ago, as managing director, with founder Chris Beighton remaining as chairman.
Palatine has invested £21m for a “significant minority stake” in Westleigh. The deal was led by Palatine partner Gary Tipper and investment director Richard Thomas with support from investment executive James Painter. Both Tipper and Thomas will join the board as a non-executive directors.
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Thomas said: “In a fast growing and attractive market, Chris, Ian and their team have built a business well-placed to benefit from the high levels of demand for affordable housing. The company has a strong and entrepreneurial management team who have demonstrated their ability to grow the business to now be a market leader across the Midlands for affordable housing development.
“We’re delighted to be backing such a high quality business as our first deal out of Palatine’s, recently launched, Midlands office. Westleigh has some ambitious plans over the next few years and we’re looking forward to supporting the company as it expands across the UK and builds on its position in the affordable housing market.”
Chris Beighton, chairman at Westleigh, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time for Westleigh and I am delighted that the business has attracted such a high quality investor. It is a testament to all our staff’s achievements that we find ourselves in a position of strength and this investment signifies an important period of further growth for the company.”
The deal was originated and led by Phil Burns, managing partner at Clearwater International and Austin Moore acted as legal advisers to Westleigh.
Burns said: “We’ve worked with the Westleigh team for a number of years to help them determine a strategy for continuing what has been a tremendous growth story. This partnership with Palatine will help that strategy flourish in what should be an attractive market for the business in the years to come.”
Palatine was advised by Catalyst Corporate Finance, Gateleyand RSM with due diligence provided by KPMG, CIL, GK Strategy and JLT. Debt facilities were provided by European Capital and AIB.
