Kindertons’ management sell out to Sovereign
CREWE-based accident management firm Kindertons has been acquired by London private equity house Sovereign Capital in a deal understood to be worth around £30m.
The business employs 450 people handling insurance claims and car repairs for motorists who have been in accidents. It also handles outsourced work from insurers and brokers and has 11 depots around the country.
Most recent filed accounts for the year to February 2012 show it made a pre-tax profit of £3.6m on sales of £41.1m. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
Kindertons is owned by a number of shareholders but controlled by founder and managing director Shaun Ellison who has 63% of the shares.
He will stay on under the new owners who plan to oversee the continued growth of the business organically and by acquisition. John Walden, a former chief executive of Lex Vehicle Leasing and a main board director of the RAC, will join the firm as a non-executive chairman.
Mr Ellison said: “With Sovereign’s investment and support we look forward to continuing to grow and develop the business. To date Kindertons has helped almost a quarter of a million people get back on the road after an accident and it is testament to my dedicated team that we now find ourselves in this position to progress the business to the next level.”
Neil Cox, a director of Sovereign Capital, said: “Kindertons is an excellent business that provides a high quality valued service to its clients, helping them carry on their busy daily lives without the hassle and disruption of having to deal with the consequences of a car accident that typically wasn’t their fault. We look forward to working with Shaun and his management team to continue Kindertons’ strong organic growth supplemented by strategic acquisitions benefiting from Sovereign’s extensive buy and build expertise, experience and resources.”
The Manchester office of Clearwater Corporate Finance advised Sovereign. It included partner Paul Jones, assistant director Chiara Pettinicchio and assistant director John Davies. Mark Taylor arranged a debt facility which was provided by Chenavari Investment Managers based in London.
He said: “We are expecting debt funds to support private equity activity across the whole of the UK and this deal is a prime example of what is happening in the market. As part of the transaction, we arranged an innovative debt facility which supports the initial funding requirement and the ongoing strategic aims of the business.”
