Investors plug in to IT group with £36m investment
CSI Group, an IT company which employs the majority of its 180 staff in Coleshill, has received a £36m investment from private equity firm MML Capital Partners.
MML is investing alongside CSI owners Alan Watkins and Kevin Lewis who, through their investment vehicle Blackhawk Capital, bought the group in 2012.
Over the last five years they have grown CSI through a combination of acquisitions and significant organic growth. The business is forecasting revenues of £48m and EBITDA of £9m.
Alan Watkins, executive chairman of CSI, said: “Kevin and I have every confidence that they will be a great partner for CSI as we enter the next chapter of the story. They have done everything that they said they would do, demonstrated real commitment and our trust and confidence has grown about the partnership we are about to embark upon.”
The managed service provider has four sites – Coleshill, Coventry, Farnborough and Glasgow – and provides mission critical Managed Services to mid to large sized corporates with complex IT requirements
MML director Rob Devonshire added: “The growth opportunity is significant with the ongoing trend towards outsourced IT Managed Services and cloud based solutions. CSI’s combined skillset across Infrastructure, Applications and Security provides for a highly differentiated offering.
“This, alongside its substantial client base positions the business well to capitalise on the market opportunity.”
Debt to support the transaction was provided by Permira Debt Managers and RBS (RCF and daily transactional banking).
Catalyst Corporate Finance provided buyside and debt advisory.
