Catalyst advises air con pumps firm on £105m sale

CATALYST Corporate Finance has advised the shareholders of air conditioning pump firm Aspen Pumps on the £105m sale of the business in a secondary management buy-out backed by private equity firm 3i Group.

UK business Aspen Pumps is a global player in the design and manufacture of air conditioning pumps, operating in more than 100 countries. Its headquarters is in East Sussex.

The business was previously backed by Inflexion Private Equity.

Aspen both designs and manufactures air conditioning condensate removal pumps, HVAC installation accessories and mounting systems. 

Under Inflexion’s period of ownership, Aspen has seen significant growth.

Birmingham-based Catalyst’s involvement in the deal included managing and supporting the debt raise process, involving both banks and alternative debt funds. This was led by the firm’s debt capital markets team.

Following a marketing process to a range of sponsors, both in the UK and US, 3i backed the existing senior management team led by Adrian Thompson. 

As part of its investment, 3i has also put in place a funding package to support future acquisitions. 

Thompson said: “I am delighted to welcome 3i to our business. We have valued the support and backing of Inflexion Private Equity over the last seven years and look forward to taking the business forward in its next phase of evolution with the support of 3i.”

Andy Currie, managing partner at Catalyst, who led the transaction supported by Birmingham-based director Jeremy Harrison, said: “Aspen is a world class British business with a great management team. I have no doubt that they will continue to go from strength-to-strength and I wish them all the best.”

This is the fifth deal Catalyst has completed in 2015, with a combined value of more than £500m.