Car-leasing firm in £100m dividend jackpot
CAR-LEASING firm Zenith Leasedrive has agreed with its lenders to pay one of the UK’s biggest private dividends this year.
According to Sky News, investors in Zenith, based in Leeds and employing 500 people in the area, is expecting a £100m windfall.
This pay-out follows a successful one year anniversary from when it was created by the merger of two smaller firms, Zenith Vehicle Contracts and Leasedrive Group.
It is now owned by private equity firm Hg Capital, and operates over 64,000 vehicles.
Founded in 1989, Zenith was snapped up by HgCapital from its previous owners Morgan Stanley Global Private Equity (MSPE) in a deal that valued the company in excess of £200m last year.
This is the fifth buy-out in 10 years for the business. MSPE acquired Zenith in September 2010 for £85m. Zenith has grown its sales from £40m in 2004 to £184m in 2013 and profits from £2.3m to £15.3m over the same period.
The firm struck a refinancing deal with its lenders to enable the dividend payment, Zenith agreed with HSBC, Intermediate Capital Group, Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland to increase its borrowing facilities to £250m.
