New owners look to drive Volvox Group forward after acquisition
LEEDS-BASED Volvox Group has been bought by Rubicon Partners in a deal which sees the retirement of chief executive John Hall.
The sale by Elysian Capital has been ongoing for around a year with a reported price tag of up to £40m, although the actual deal value has not been disclosed.
Volvox supplies auto electrical products and industrial consumables from its 60,000 sq ft facility in Leeds. It has annual sales of more than £50m and employs about 220 people.
Outgoing chief executive Mr Hall, who received an MBE in this year’s New Year’s Honours, said: “In 2011 we wanted to grow our business to the next level with support from a PE partner with operational expertise. Elysian was able to provide that expertise, assisting us to grow the business significantly within both the UK and European markets and I know I am leaving the group with a strong platform for future growth.”
Rubicon Partners, which has offices in London, Munich and Shanghai and specialises in acquiring industrial businesses, describes itself as “an industrial holding company backed by long-term private capital”. It says this approach means it can add value over a longer time period than traditional private equity.
Volvox has three divisions – vehicle lighting and auto electrics brand Ring Automotive which generates about 71% of the group’s sales, workshop product supplier Van-Line which contributes 22%, and BMAC, which designs and manufactures lighting and electronic control systems for buses and trains, which brings in 7%.
Accounts filed this week for Volvox Group, for the year to September 2014, showed a 3% increase in sales to £52.0m, with pre-tax profits jumping 84% to £5.5m. It also repaid all of its £5.2m bank debt that had been due to be repaid in 2016 and 2017.
During the financial year it sold off Arctic Products, a plumbing supplies business, which had accounted for around 5% of the group’s turnover, in a £3.76m deal.
Volvox Group was created in 2005, the result of a buy-out of non-core businesses from Catalina backed by LDC. Over six years the group’s turnover grew from £25m to £40m before Elysian Capital bought out LDC in a secondary MBO in 2011.
That deal was supported by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, which has also backed Rubicon’s purchase.
Andrew Fischer from Rubicon Partners said: “The team at Lloyds Bank has supported Volvox over a number of years and throughout several milestone investments. This deal is a major step forward for the business and comes after a period of significant growth.
“With this new investment, and the combined expertise and ambition of the Rubicon and Lloyds Bank teams, we are confident that we can support Volvox in developing its range of unique aftermarket automotive products including high-tech lighting and rechargeable products.”
Elysian Capital and the company’s management were advised by Paul Mann and Jessica Kolhorn from Squire Patton Boggs and Charlotte Tracy and Stuart Warriner from PwC’s corporate finance team.
