Investment specialist to acquire £128m turnover pest control business

Knaresborough-headquartered global pest control technology leader Pelsis Group is to be acquired by specialist investment manager Pamplona Capital Management this September.

For the past four years Lloyds Development Capital (LDC), the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, has been Pelsis’s investment partner.

During that period, LDC supported Pelsis’s international growth strategy, led by the company’s CEO Andrew Milner, which included three international acquisitions.

Today, Pelsis has a turnover of €150m/£128m and employs around 600 people across 15 sites located throughout Western Europe and the US. All values relating to the Pamplona transaction are undisclosed.

Milner said: “We are very excited to begin this new chapter for Pelsis together with Pamplona.

“Pamplona will actively support Pelsis in achieving our shared goals and growing further into the US and Europe, consolidating our position as a market leader and introducing new, innovative products to the market.

“Having met the Pamplona team, we look forward to working with them in driving the company’s further success.”

Established in 1984, Pelsis owns a portfolio of trade, professional and consumer brands including Edialux, Insect-O-Cutor, B&G, Curtis Dyna-Fog and Pest-Stop. In addition, the company has a wide customer base including Rentokil, Ecolab, Screwfix and Amazon.

Pamplona co-managing partner, Martin Schwab, said: “We are looking forward to partnering with Andrew and the management team of Pelsis and are impressed by the work they have done to build the company into an attractive growth platform in recent years.

“As a global leader in the highly resilient pest control market, we believe Pelsis is very well positioned to take advantage of the strong trend towards greater focus on health and hygiene, and continued growth and development of the pest control industry.

“Pamplona’s track record in supporting management teams in executing their strategic ambitions across both sides of the Atlantic and experience in carrying out bolt-on acquisitions ideally position us to support Pelsis for the next stage of growth.”

Pamplona, established in 2005, provides an alternative investment platform across private equity and other diversified strategies. With offices in New York, London, Madrid, and Malta, it manages over $11bn in assets.

Dale Alderson, head of the North West at LDC, said: “We have greatly enjoyed our time working with Andrew and the team during the last four years to establish Pelsis as a leader, with international presence, in the global pest control industry.

“During our partnership, Andrew and his team have cemented Pelsis’ market-leading position by making astute acquisitions. I have no doubt they will continue to go from strength to strength as they continue to expand across the world.

“We are excited for their next chapter with Pamplona and wish both great success in achieving their growth ambitions.”

Pamplona received financial advice on the transaction from Houlihan Lokey and William Blair, and Kirkland & Ellis provided legal advice. LDC’s financial adviser was Rothschild, and legal advice was provided by DLA Piper.