German acquisition of Angel Springs is Deal of the Month
THE acquisition of Wolverhampton-based water cooler supplier Angel Springs has been selected as our Deal of the Month for December 2014.
It was bought by German private equity provider Castik Capital following the exit from the business of private equity firm LDC.
LDC said it was delighted by the multi-million pound deal, having tripled its original investment in just over three years.
Angel Springs provides both bottled and mains-fed water coolers to businesses and organisations throughout the UK and currently services more than 60,000 water coolers. The business has a UK-wide network of ten service and distribution centres.
After taking a significant majority stake in Angel Springs in 2011, LDC’s investment strategy was to support the business’ existing management team, led by managing director John Dundon, in driving organic growth alongside an ambitious buy-and-build growth strategy.
Angel Springs has achieve substantial sales and profit growth over the three years of LDC’s investment, with turnover rising from circa £14m to around £20m for the financial year ended March 2014.
The original investment and subsequent exit was completed by LDC’s Birmingham-based team, led by director and the head of the Birmingham office, Andy Lyndon, who acted as LDC’s representative on the board throughout the investment.
The deal was transacted by LDC with support from a number of regionally- based advisors including Deloitte, PwC and Freeths.
Investment bank Altium advised Castik Capital.
Commenting on the Deal of the Month choice, TheBusinessDesk.com West Midlands editor Andy Coyne said: “This was a great deal for all concerned.
“The investment from and involvement of LDC over a three year period has seen Angel Springs go from strength to strength.
“LDC was able to achieve a very successful exit whilst leaving Angel Springs in an extremely healthy position. It will now be able to develop further under the ownership of Castik Capital.
“And a wealth of local advisers were on hand to get the deal done.”
See details of all recent West Midlands deals here.
