German aqua-sition sees LDC exit water cooler firm Angel Springs
WOLVERHAMPTON-based water cooler supplier Angel Springs has been acquired by German private equity provider Castik Capital following the exit from the business of UK 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 10 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.
This was successfully executed and during the investment period, the business secured significant new contracts with both SMEs and multi-site blue chip organisations, while completing nine strategic acquisitions.
In 2012, LDC also supported Angel Springs’ head office relocation to a brand new state-of-the-art 10,000 sq ft building in Wolverhampton. This expansion and investment in core infrastructure has enabled the business to grow further.
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. Employee numbers have also risen considerably during the investment period, with the business now employing more than 200 people, up from 131 people at the beginning of 2011.
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. The deal follows the recent recommended cash acquisition of Waterlogic plc, a global distributor of point of use drinking water purification and dispensing systems, and is the second deal on which Altium has worked with Castik this year.
Martin Draper, chief executive of LDC, said: “The deal with Castik Capital represents an excellent outcome for Angel Springs. The business has a very strong foundation upon which to progress further under its new ownership and we wish the whole team all the very best for the future.”
John Dundon, Managing Director, Angel Springs said: “Over the last three years, LDC’s Midlands’ team has invested considerable time and resource to our business, helping us to meet ambitious operational and acquisitive growth objectives, with their support and strategic input being invaluable.
“With LDC’s backing, we have consistently invested in the business for the benefit of our customers whilst striving to improve efficiency across our service and delivery models, and this approach has resulted in success on a national scale. We’re now looking forward to building further on the achievements of the last three years in conjunction with Castik Capital.”
Michael Phillips, Partner of Castik Capital, said: “The acquisition of Angel Springs is a material building block in our strategy to form a globally leading water cooler company. Angel Springs has exhibited impressive growth over recent years – both organically and through acquisitions – and has a highly experienced management team, headed by CEO John Dundon.”
Altium provided both M&A and debt advice to Castik Capital. The M&A team comprised Phil Adams, Paul Lines and Tom Battersby, in addition to Richard Clark, managing director of Altium’s debt advisory team.
Phil Adams, chief executive of Altium, said: “Angel Springs is one of the UK’s leading water cooler companies, and with Castik’s backing and long-term mindset, will go from strength to strength in the next few years. It has been exciting to be a part of the process and we look forward to partnering with the team in the future.”
