RJD completes sale of Verdant
28 November 2016RJD Partners (“RJD”) is pleased to announce that it has completed the sale of its investment in portfolio company Verdant Leisure (“Verdant”), an operator of upmarket holiday parks in Scotland and Northern England, via a secondary buyout. The transaction values Verdant at over £40 million.
RJD first invested in Verdant in September 2010, when it backed a highly experienced management team in the buy-in of Dunham Leisure Limited, comprising the Pease Bay and Thurston Manor holiday parks, both located on the East coast of Scotland. Under RJD’s ownership, Verdant has grown thanks to strong organic growth and two strategic acquisitions. The RJD team worked with management to identify and integrate the acquisition of both Viewfield Manor Leisure Park in Ayrshire in July 2011, and Riverside, located in Northumberland, in December 2011.
Richard Caston, RJD Partners
We are delighted to have worked with Graham, Bev, and Andrew and the rest of the team at Verdant. With RJD’s support the team has developed a market-leading brand in the holiday park sector, and we wish them well as they continue to develop the business under new ownership. This transaction delivers a successful exit for RJD and our funds.
RJD has extensive experience of investing in the leisure and services sectors, including its successful investments in Academy Music Group, Character World, Teaching Personnel and Ipes. Verdant represents another successful realisation from RJD’s second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund Il, which closed in July 2007
Richard Caston and Jill Williams worked on the realisation for RJD.
Graham Hodgson, Verdant Leisure
We have enjoyed working in partnership with RJD over the past five years to transition the business from family ownership into the leading independent holiday park group in Scotland and Northern England.