£10m investment to drive growth of stolen vehicle recovery specialist
A Crewe-based stolen vehicle services provider has received a £9.75m investment from London private equity and infrastructure investor, Foresight Group.
Trak Global Security Solutions (TGSS) provides end-to-end vehicle security solutions to the car rental and flexi-lease sectors, combining telematics hardware, software and service components to provide a leading offering to its customers to dramatically improve the success of recovering a vehicle.
TGSS is being carved out of a larger group, with the new entity being led by Dave Turnock and Andy Christopher. Dave, who has significant industry experience and has been with TGSS for more than 10 years, will lead the company as managing director.
Andy Christopher, who brings a wealth of experience and contacts, having been in the industry for more than 30 years, has been appointed as the company’s CEO.
Dave and Andy will be supported by Dave Shepherd as chair, Mark Ward as NED and former founder of Trak Global Solutions, Alan Cottrill, also as NED, all of which are highly experienced within the vehicle and technology sectors.
TGSS operates in a high growth $12bn per annum market. It says it is the leader in the UK, achieving vehicle recovery rates of 90% versus competitor recovery rates of some 28%.
Within the new entity, supported by Foresight, the management team sees significant opportunities to expand its services geographically into Europe and into adjacent vehicle verticals.
This will be supported by additional investment into new technologies that make identifying and removing tracking devices more difficult for criminals – ultimately reducing vehicle and asset theft across the UK and Europe.
Chris Wardle, managing director at Foresight, said: “We are pleased to back a strong management team, whom we have every confidence will drive a leading business in the sector. This is a substantial market and the management team has identified several growth opportunities that, with the right focus and support, can be realised quickly.”
Dave Turnock said: “We’re extremely proud to receive investment from Foresight, and excited to forge ahead in a market that is perfectly set up for growth.
“The rise in asset theft, in part driven by the macro-economic situation, means that we are well placed to serve customers, old and new, not only with cutting edge technology but also a team that has over 14 years of industry-leading expertise.”
Andy Christopher said: “This is an exciting time for our team and our private equity partners. We have ambitious plans to both increase our current market share and seek growth opportunities in new geographical markets and industry sectors.”
Legal advice to the SVR management team was provided by Matt Noon and Alex Thow of Hill Dickinson’s corporate team in Liverpool, with corporate finance advice provided by Grant Thornton. Foresight was advised on the transaction by David Easdown of Knights.
