Member Article

LDC invest £10.5m in Dale Power Solutions buyout

Mid-market private equity firm LDC has invested £10.5m for a significant stake in the management buy-out of Dale Power Solutions.

LDC Midlands’ team completed the deal using capital from LDC’s £200m Manufacturing and Specialist Engineering commitment.

Dale Power Solutions was established more than 75 years ago and operates through two established brands, Dale and Erskine, to provide secure power and business continuity solutions.

They supply national and international customers in the petro-chem, telecommunications, rail, financial services and industrial sectors.

The Scarborough-headquartered firm has reported significant revenue growth in recent years, and has an annual turnover in excess of £30m.

LDC has backed Dale Power Solutions’ existing management team, which is led by chief executive Tim Wilkins.

As part of the investment strategy, the existing management team will be further supported by the appointment of Denzil Lee as Chairman.

Mr Wilkins said: “LDC’s investment brings additional strategic input and financial backing to our business and will help us to deliver our ambitious growth plans. As well as increasing the pace of organic growth across our core brands, we are keen to pursue appropriate acquisition opportunities both in the UK and internationally and in related product areas.”

Martin Draper, LDC’s UK New Business Managing Director said: “Dale Power Solutions has a leading worldwide reputation through its leading industry brands - Dale and Erskine, both of which are highly regarded and well recognised in their respective markets for their technical expertise.

“We are partnering with a high-quality management team led by Tim Wilkins, which will be further strengthened by the appointment of Denzil Lee as Chairman. Going forward, we will work closely with the team to identify organic and acquisitive opportunities to accelerate growth.”

Reflecting on the completion of another successful new investment using funds from LDC’s Manufacturing and Specialist Engineering initiative, Martin Draper added: “This deal represents the sixth transaction completed using funds from our manufacturing commitment taking our aggregate investment to £120 million and reaffirms our support for regionally based mid-market businesses with ambitious growth plans operating within the manufacturing and engineering arena.”

The deal was completed with support from legal advisers at Gateley; Browne Jacobson and Springboard Corporate Finance; and Deloitte, who provided financial due diligence.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .