£30m-turnover agricultural equipment business changes hands

A £30m-turnover agricultural and ground-care equipment distributor based in Lincoln has been acquired by private equity firm Inspirit Capital.

Inspirit has acquired Spaldings from the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation, which has owned the longstanding firm since 2012.

Nick Grainger, partner in FRP’s debt advisory team, oversaw a competitive debt auction process which raised £10.75m in asset-based finance that will help fund the purchase and meet ongoing working capital requirements.

Leeds-based Leumi ABL was selected as the preferred financing partner.

Nick Grainger, debt advisory partner at FRP, said: “Inspirit came to us with the challenge of identifying a lender that would offer a debt structure that leveraged against Spaldings’ extensive assets. Leumi ABL proved to be the best partner – providing a market-leading, highly competitive solution that ticks every one of Inspirit’s boxes.

“This deal not only provided Inspirit with the backing to press ahead with the acquisition, but also clearly demonstrates the scale of opportunity within the market for bespoke funding solutions, for those who can identify the right backers. With this deal complete, we’re excited to see how Spaldings continues to grow with Inspirit’s support.”

Inspirit was also advised by BDB Pitmans (legal), European Valuations (collateral review) and LSH (property).