RJD Partners

RJD completes third exit from its second fund with the realisation of Raphael Healthcare

colette.homewood — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:16:12 +0000

RJD Partners ("RJD") has realised its investment in Raphael Healthcare (“Raphael”), a provider of specialist mental health services for women, through a refinancing funded by new debt facilities provided by the Bank of Ireland in combination with funds from the management team and the company’s cash reserves.

RJD received proceeds of £9.1 million, delivering a return to RJD of 1.5x its original investment. RJD has re-invested part of its return in a mezzanine loan note investment.

Raphael is the third realisation from RJD’s second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund Il, which closed in July 2007. The first two realisations were Teaching Personnel and TransLinc.

RJD invested £6.1 million of development capital in Raphael in July 2008, attracted to the company’s highly specialist, unique market offering and market leading clinical reputation.

Raphael was established in 2004 by Chief Executive Arthur Robinson, a former psychiatric and general nurse and onetime NHS Trust Director of Mental Health, and Chairman John Lamb, a healthcare entrepreneur. The company opened its first 30 bed hospital, The Farndon Unit, in Newark, Nottinghamshire in 2006.

Following RJD’s investment, The Farndon Unit was developed to 46 beds, and includes a rehabilitation ward and low security accommodation. Raphael is now a preferred supplier to Primary Care Trusts in the East Midlands, West Midlands, Barnsley (covering North Yorkshire, York and Barnsley) and Somerset.

Raphael has recently gained planning approval to develop a 24 bed eating eating disorder unit at its Briars Hey site in Rainhill, Merseyside. The new unit will create 59 jobs.

John Dillon, Managing Partner, RJD Partners comments: "With RJD’s support and input, the team has effectively established Raphael as a leading provider of healthcare in its field. This transaction has secured a successful realisation of its funds for RJD, whilst positioning the company strategically for the future development of the Briars Hey site. We wish the management team every success in the next phase of business’s lifecycle."

Arthur Robinson, Chief Executive, Raphael Healthcare says: "We have enjoyed working with RJD during the Farndon Unit’s development to maturity. The business is now very well placed for the next phase, which will involve the development of the Briars Hey site and ongoing consideration of other opportunities."

RJD Partners was advised by DLA Piper (legal advice). Raphael was advised by Dow Schofield Watts (Corporate Finance) and Hill Dickinson (legal advice).

John Dillon and Jill Williams worked on the realisation for RJD.

The contents of this news release are intended for information purposes only. RJD Partners Limited does not provide investment advice and we strongly recommend that before making any decision to invest or engage in any investment activity, you should obtain proper professional advice. See our full terms & conditions. RJD Partners Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the conduct of investment business in the UK. RJD Partners Limited is registered in England and Wales No. 04245768. Registered office: 8/9 Well Court, London EC4M 9DN.

RJD completes sixth exit from its first fund with the sale of the operations of European Boating Holidays

colette.homewood — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:04:26 +0000

RJD Partners ("RJD") has sold the operations of European Boating Holidays (“EBH”), the largest independent operator of European inland waterway boating holidays, to a French syndicate-backed management buy-in, led by Serge Naim and financed by Avenir Entreprise and AMS Industries.

The value of the transaction was undisclosed. EBH is the sixth realisation from RJD’s first fund, RL Private Equity Fund I, which closed in April 2004. The remaining Fund I investments are ISG Technology and Equidebt.

In July 2006, RJD led the simultaneous acquisition of Locaboat, the largest independent operator of European inland waterway boating holidays, and Cardinal Cruisers, a specialist operator focused on the German market, thus establishing EBH. RJD backed Keith Gregory, then owner and founder of Cardinal Cruisers, who has over 35 years experience of successfully running European boating holiday businesses including 10 years as Chief Executive of Crown Blue Line, to lead the business.

Following RJD’s investment, the business has benefited from a high level of repeat bookings and the growing trend towards activity based holidays. Since the buy-in, the business has made one bolt-on acquisition and has expanded into new countries such as Poland.

RJD has a strong track record of investing in the leisure & consumer services sector, recently backing portfolio company Verdant Leisure, an owner and operator of holiday parks, in making two bolt-on acquisitions within six months, and was previously invested in Academy Music Group, an owner and operator of UK live music and club venues, including the Brixton Academy and Shepherd’s Bush Empire, successfully exiting the investment in 2007.

Richard Caston, Partner, RJD Partners comments: "It’s encouraging to see that bookings at European Boating Holidays have been resilient despite the difficulties in the Eurozone, which is a testament to the management team and the quality of the holidays they provide."

Keith Gregory, Chairman, European Boating Holidays says: "We have enjoyed working with RJD whose input into the strategic management of the business over the last 5 years has been invaluable. The company is very well placed for the next phase of development under its new management and ownership."

RJD Partners was advised by Lincoln International (corporate finance advice) and Eversheds (legal advice).

Verdant Leisure completes its second acquisition

karen.poole — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:15:31 +0000

RJD Partners’ portfolio company, Verdant Leisure (“Verdant”), owner and operator of three well established holiday parks in Southern Scotland, has completed its second acquisition, buying Riverside Country Park (“Riverside”) located in Wooler, Northumberland. The deal is the holiday park operator’s first outside Scotland and is part of the growth strategy to create a regional group with significant scale. RJD has provided further equity funding to finance the acquisition.

Riverside is a 78 acre park with a current maximum capacity of 440 static pitches and 72 touring pitches, operating year round. The park is well located close to Cheviot National Park and is about one hour’s drive north of Newcastle and 90 minutes south east of Edinburgh. The vendor was North Dales LLP.

RJD, one of the leading UK lower middle market private equity investors, first invested in Verdant in September 2010, backing a highly experienced sector management team in a management buy-in of Dunham Leisure Limited, the then owners of the Pease Bay and Thurston Manor parks.

The Verdant team, comprising Graham Hodgson as Chief Executive, Andrew Wall as Finance Director and Bev Dixon as Operations Director, recognised that these two parks offered an attractive platform from which to implement a buy and build strategy to create a larger regional group with significant scale. Verdant completed its first bolt on acquisition in July 2011, adding Viewfield Manor, a 298 static pitch site located close to the Ayrshire Coast, to its portfolio.

Frank Bulman, Partner, RJD Partners, comments: "We are delighted to back the Verdant team in actively implementing the buy and build strategy identified at the time of the original buy-in. The management team has already demonstrated an ability to add value to the assets they acquire, achieving operational improvements in the three existing parks. Riverside is an excellent fit with the business and will enable Verdant to reap the benefits of scale and operational synergies.”

Graham Hodgson, CEO of Verdant, says: "We believe Riverside will be a valuable strategic addition to our portfolio. We have reviewed many acquisition opportunities since the buy-in last year and have been able to be highly selective in those that we’ve pursued. Like Viewfield Manor, Riverside is a well planned and located park but nevertheless offers clear operational improvement and growth opportunities. It also enables us to expand the geographical breadth of our offering.”

Verdant Leisure was advised by Grant Thornton (financial due diligence); Eversheds (legal advice) and CBRE (property due diligence).

Richard Caston, Frank Bulman and Richard Court worked on the deal for RJD.

The contents of this news release are intended for information purposes only. RJD Partners Limited does not provide investment advice and we strongly recommend that before making any decision to invest or engage in any investment activity, you should obtain proper professional advice. See our full terms & conditions. RJD Partners Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the conduct of investment business in the UK. RJD Partners Limited is registered in England and Wales No. 04245768. Registered office: 8/9 Well Court, London EC4M 9DN.

RJD completes second exit from its second fund with the sale of TransLinc

admin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:56:46 +0000

RJD Partners ("RJD") has sold its investment in TransLinc, the market leader in the provision of specialised vehicles and related services to local authorities and the utilities market, in a trade sale to May Gurney Integrated Services plc announced today.

The transaction values TransLinc at £65.6 million, giving a return to RJD of approximately 2.7x its original investment and an IRR of 26%. TransLinc is the second realisation from RJD’s second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund II.

RJD backed the £50 million buyout of TransLinc in June 2007.

Having originally been formed within Lincolnshire County Council, TransLinc has grown to become the market leader in its field with an extensive local authority customer base and nationwide operational coverage. TransLinc is distinguished in its market by its ability to offer customers a bespoke ‘one-stop’ service and by its excellent relationships with the key decision makers in its industry.

Under Paul Wood, Managing Director, and David Foulds, Finance Director, TransLinc has achieved significant success and consistent growth and now represents a strategic acquisition for May Gurney.

RJD has a strong track record of investing in the support services sector, previously achieving successful realisations with Teaching Personnel and Emprise.

Alex Hay, Partner, RJD Partners comments: "We are delighted to have worked with Paul Wood, David Foulds and a high quality team at TransLinc. With RJD’s support the team has built TransLinc into a clear market leader in its field and the business represents a strategic and compelling acquisition for May Gurney. This transaction delivers a highly successful exit for RJD and our funds."

Paul Wood, Managing Director, TransLinc says: "We have enjoyed working with RJD to develop TransLinc’s offering within a dynamic and growing market place. There remain considerable opportunities for the business to grow further as it continues to focus on its customers’ needs within a difficult fiscal environment. The team is looking forward to becoming part of the May Gurney group and developing the business as part of a larger organisation."

RJD Partners and the other shareholders of TransLinc were advised by teams led by Matt Waddell and John Lane at PwC LLP (corporate finance advice) and Mark Spinner and Stephen Kitts at Eversheds (legal advice).

RJD portfolio company Intrinsic Technology appoints Gordon Matthew as chairman

admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:05:41 +0000

Intrinsic Technology Limited (“Intrinsic”), a provider of networking and virtualisation solutions, has appointed Gordon Matthew as non-executive chairman.

RJD backed the £30 million buyout of Intrinsic from its founder and majority shareholder in July 2011. The buyout was led by its Chief Executive, Mike Mason, an experienced IT and telecommunications executive, together with his operational team.

Intrinsic is based in Haydock, Merseyside and was founded in 1999. Since inception it has grown consistently to become one of the leading converged communication and IT solutions providers in the UK, with offices in the City of London, Thames Valley, Glasgow and Haydock.

Intrinsic designs, supplies and implements voice, data and virtualised environments and provides ongoing contracted maintenance and managed services for a range of customers in both the private and public sectors. These services can be provided on a business’ premises, hosted or through the Cloud.

The company has developed strategic alliances and tier 1 accreditations with a number of the industry’s major players, including Avaya, Cisco, HP and Microsoft, and has achieved its strong market position through its commitment to customer service, its flexibility and high responsiveness to market developments.

Gordon was previously CEO of Azzurri, a £140 million turnover networking and unified communications group. He has also been a successful Chief Executive of two other private equity backed businesses, Comtec and RedSky/Ramesys.

Gordon Matthew commented: “Intrinsic has developed an excellent reputation for high quality and responsive customer service and operates in an attractive market with significant growth potential. I look forward to working with the Board and RJD to take advantage of the many opportunities facing the business.”

Frank Bulman, Partner at RJD, added: “RJD has built an excellent relationship with Gordon having worked successfully with him in the past. We are confident that his impressive track record in the IT services sector and leadership experience in large, private equity backed businesses will enable him to add significant value to Intrinsic."

RJD backs Verdant Leisure’s first bolt on acquisition

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:08:45 +0000

Verdant Leisure (“Verdant”), owner and operator of two well established holiday parks in South East Scotland, has completed its first acquisition, adding Viewfield Manor, a holiday park located a few miles inland from the Ayrshire Coast and c.20 miles from Glasgow, to its portfolio.

RJD Partners ("RJD") one of the leading UK lower middle market private equity investors, first invested in Verdant in September 2010, backing a highly experienced leisure sector management team in a management buy-in of Dunham Leisure Limited, the then owners of the Pease Bay and Thurston Manor parks.

The Verdant team comprising Graham Hodgson as Chief Executive, Andrew Wall as Finance Director and Bev Dixon as Operations Director, recognised that these two parks offered an attractive platform from which to implement a buy and build strategy to create a larger regional group with significant scale.

Verdant’s first bolt-on acquisition, Viewfield Manor, is a 298 static pitch site offering significant development potential. The vendor was a private family vehicle.

RJD has provided further equity funding to finance the acquisition of Viewfield, alongside an additional debt tranche from Yorkshire Bank.

Frank Bulman, Partner, RJD Partners, comments: "Having backed the Verdant Leisure team in a platform deal, we are delighted to see them start to implement their buy and build strategy by making their first acquisition. The existing Verdant parks have performed strongly since the buy-in. Viewfield Manor is an excellent strategic fit with the business and the team have a well established reputation for adding significant value to the assets they acquire."

Graham Hodgson, CEO of Verdant, says: "We’ve been highly selective in reviewing the many acquisition opportunities that have come our way since the buy-in last year and we singled out Viewfield Manor as a well located park offering clear operational improvement and growth opportunities. Whilst it is complementary to the existing Verdant parks in that there is a significant cross over in catchment area, Viewfield Manor also expands the breadth of our market offering and we are excited about its addition to our portfolio.”

Verdant Leisure was advised by KPMG (financial due diligence); Eversheds (legal advice); CBRE (property due diligence) and JLT (insurance).

Richard Caston, Frank Bulman and Richard Court worked on the deal for RJD.

RJD backs the £30 million buyout of Intrinsic Technology Limited

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:23:33 +0000

RJD Partners (“RJD”), one of the UK’s leading middle market private equity investors, has backed the £30 million buyout of Intrinsic Technology Limited (“Intrinsic”), a provider of IT and unified communications solutions and services, from its founder and majority shareholder, Allan Gauld.

The buyout is being led by its Chief Executive, Mike Mason, an experienced IT and telecommunications executive who was brought into the business towards the end of 2009, together with his operational team. Mike Mason has an excellent management track record, with substantial experience of running a variety of IT and communications businesses of differing sizes, including some much larger than Intrinsic. He has also led a number of successful exits in the sector.

Intrinsic is based in Haydock, Lancashire and was founded in 1999 by Allan Gauld. Since inception it has grown consistently to become one of the leading converged communication and IT solutions providers in the UK, with offices in the City of London, Thames Valley, Glasgow and Haydock, and over 50 field-based engineers. Intrinsic designs, supplies and implements voice, data and virtualised environments and provides ongoing contracted maintenance and managed services for a range of customers in both the private and public sectors.

The company has developed strategic alliances and tier 1 accreditations with a number of the industry’s major players, including Cisco, Avaya, Microsoft and HP and has achieved its strong market position through its commitment to customer service, its flexibility and high responsiveness to market developments. Intrinsic now employs over 125 staff and delivered an annual turnover in excess of £27 million in the year to 30 November 2010.

The buyout has been funded through a combination of management re-investment, equity investment, provided through funds managed by RJD, and debt facilities provided by HSBC. Allan Gauld will also retain an equity stake in the Business.

Frank Bulman, Partner, RJD Partners comments: “Mike Mason has a proven track record of value creation in the IT services sector. We are delighted to have the opportunity to back him in leading a highly motivated and impressive management team in the buyout of Intrinsic. The company is an innovative, leading player in an attractive market with excellent growth potential and we look forward to working with the team to fully exploit this.”

Mike Mason, CEO of Intrinsic, said: “Having worked in the business with Allan Gauld and the management team for nearly two years, I’m delighted to be taking the business forward to the next stage in its strategic plan. Intrinsic has developed an excellent reputation for high quality and responsive customer service. We aim to build on this by taking advantage of both the organic growth and acquisition opportunities presented in a dynamic but fragmented market. RJD are experienced investors in the IT services sector and fully share our ambitious vision.”

Frank Bulman and Jill Williams worked on this transaction for RJD. Frank will be joining the board of Intrinsic.

RJD Partners was advised by Investec (Andrew Pinder/Paul Bail, corporate finance advice); DLA Piper (Jim Lavery/Nick Roome, legal advice); KPMG (Phil Abram/Chris Woodland, financial and commercial due diligence); Heath Lambert (George Minoprio, insurance due diligence) and The Quinn Partnership (Paul Quinn, management assessment).

Management received legal advice from Semple Fraser (Simon Wallwork). The vendor was advised by Ballard Evans (Jon Ballard, corporate finance advice) and Napthens (Keith Melling, legal advice).

RJD completes debt refinancing and appoints a chairman at Chemigraphic

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:17:19 +0000

RJD Partners (“RJD”), one of the UK’s leading lower middle market private equity investors, has completed the debt refinancing of portfolio company Chemigraphic Limited (“Chemigraphic”), one of the largest independent full service electronic manufacturing services providers in the UK. HSBC has provided the new debt facilities totalling £11 million.

In late December 2010, RJD secured the management buyout of Chemigraphic by offering a full equity underwrite, thus providing certainty of delivery for the vendors and giving Chemigraphic the benefit of being able to negotiate the best possible debt financing package to support the company going forward. RJD and Chemigraphic selected HSBC from a number of competitive indicative financing offers.

In addition, Chemigraphic has recently appointed Mark Weavis as non-executive chairman.

Mark, aged 51, is an Operating Consultant to RJD and is currently chairman of RJD portfolio company Stone Group. He was formerly chairman of another RJD backed business, Teaching Personnel, a leading provider of supply teachers. Here he led the management team in the RJD backed buyout in 2007. RJD and Mark sold Teaching Personnel in July 2010 for £45 million, giving a return to RJD of over 3x its original investment.

Operating from a 40,000 square foot purpose built office and factory complex, Chemigraphic designs, assembles and installs complex printed circuit board based components and provides a number of related services including design, full assembly & testing and final delivery. The company has achieved consistent growth through offering a highly flexible and reactive full service and now employs over 125 staff and delivered an annual turnover of c.£20 million in the year to 31 March 2011. Chemigraphic has continued to perform strongly since the buyout.

Alex Hay, Partner, RJD Partners comments: “We are delighted to have completed the refinancing of Chemigraphic. Despite the fact that debt is still relatively scarce, Chemigraphic received several competing indicative offers which is a reflection of the company’s strong growth track record and outstanding reputation for service.”

Bob Adams, CEO of Chemigraphic, said: “Mark Weavis’s experience of building a highly successful service led business will be of considerable benefit to Chemigraphic and we believe he will add significant strategic value to the board as the company grows into an increasingly important player in the UK specialist electronics sector.”

Mark Weavis commented: “Chemigraphic has an excellent foundation of highly responsive customer relationships and an ambitious, growth orientated management team. I look forward to working with the Board and RJD to build on Chemigraphic’s success and to take the business forward to the next stage of development.”

RJD Partners and Chemigraphic were advised by Eversheds (legal) and Livingstone Partners (financial). HSBC was advised by Shoosmiths (legal).

RJD portfolio company Stone Group wins preferred supplier deal with Lenovo

admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:22:17 +0000

Stone Group (“Stone”), the UK’s largest privately-owned computer hardware manufacturer, has signed a landmark deal to become a preferred supplier of customised Lenovo PCs and other products to the education market in the UK. Lenovo is the fourth largest PC manufacturer in the world.

The deal will enable Stone to further enhance its well established, strong reputation in the UK education market and extend its product portfolio to offer ‘tier one’ branded products, complemented by its own commitment to after sales service and value-add configurations. Stone customers will be able to purchase Lenovo products including the ever-popular ThinkPad Notebooks, in addition to ThinkCentre Desktop PCs.

RJD Partners (“RJD”) originally led the £28 million management buyout of Stone in April 2008. Stone subsequently acquired Rock Computers, one of the UK’s leading performance notebook manufacturers, in May 2008.

Since the buyout, the Staffordshire-based company has continued to grow strongly, launching its own recycling plant to enable it to offer a true cradle-to-grave service and successfully consolidating its operations in April 2010 onto a new single-purpose designed site to provide room for further expansion.

Stone gained a number of new accreditations during 2010, including the OGC Buying Solutions, the largest buying organisation for the UK public sector. As one of only 12 suppliers in the UK to gain this much coveted award, the accreditation was strategically groundbreaking for Stone, enabling the company to expand into new markets and supply a significantly wider customer base.

In July 2010, RJD invested an additional £4 million in Stone to fund further growth.

James Bird, CEO at Stone, comments, “We are delighted to announce that Stone will be supplying Lenovo products to the schools, further and higher education markets in this UK-exclusive deal. As the fourth largest PC manufacturer in the world, Lenovo products represent technical innovation and strong brand equity, and we can add to this Stone’s exemplary reputation in the UK market to offer customers a unique and compelling proposition. This is something we are very excited about, and we look forward to this helping us achieve our aggressive growth targets for 2011 and beyond.”

John Dillon, RJD Partners, commented: “Stone has achieved strong organic growth by providing a comprehensive first class service to its customers. The tie up with Lenovo is very exciting for both businesses, enabling Stone to extend its breadth of offering and consolidate further its market leading position in the education sector.”

RJD Partners promotes four of its investment team

admin — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:20:46 +0000

RJD Partners (“RJD”), a leading middle market private equity firm, announces four promotions within in its investment team: Alex Hay and Frank Bulman are both promoted to Partner; Jill Williams is promoted to Investment Director; and Richard Court to Investment Manager.

The promotions follow a busy second half of 2010, which saw RJD complete two new investments and achieve the first realisation from its second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund II, with the sale of Teaching Personnel in July.

Alex Hay joined RJD from Close Brothers Corporate Finance in January 2007. He completed the management buyout of Chemigraphic Limited, one of the UK’s largest independent full service electronic manufacturing solutions providers, in December 2010. Alex has portfolio responsibility for RJD’s investments in licensed bedding company Character World; Raphael Healthcare, a provider of gender specific specialist mental health services; and Senturion, the specialist fleet outsourcing business. Previously Alex has been involved with RJD’s successful exit of Cardsave and the refinancing of portfolio company Equidebt. Alex qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Frank Bulman joined RJD in March 2007. Frank completed the management buy-in of Verdant Leisure, a holiday park business based in South East Scotland, in September 2010 and the recent realisation of Teaching Personnel, the specialist teacher recruitment business, having been involved with the secondary buy-out of this business in 2007. He is also involved with a number of RJD’s other investments, including Comtec, a leading provider of software and services to the travel sector. Frank joined RJD from Livingstone Partners where he led and closed a wide range of private company transactions and prior to this, he spent three years at Close Brothers Corporate Finance.

Jill Williams joined RJD Partners in October 2007 from PwC Corporate Finance, where she completed a number of deals as a buy-side adviser to private equity, in a variety of sectors including leisure and specialist distribution. At RJD, Jill has worked on the management buy-outs of Chemigraphic and Stone Group, an IT provider to the public sector, and is involved with portfolio companies Ipes, a leading provider of outsourced fund administration services, and ISG Technology, a leading provider of IT network services.

Richard Court joined RJD Partners in February 2010 and has worked on the management buy-in of Verdant Leisure. Prior to joining RJD, Richard was an Associate in the Securitised & Principal Finance group at Dresdner Kleinwort Investment Bank. His role included structuring and negotiating debt and equity packages for a variety of significant transactions. He has experience across a variety of sectors including leisure, financial services, healthcare and industrials.

David MacLellan, Chairman, RJD Partners, commented:

"We are delighted to announce these promotions which follow a busy and productive year for RJD. Alex, Frank, Jill and Richard have all made significant contributions, both to the deals that we completed in 2010 and across the existing portfolio. Their specialist sector focus and deal experience has enabled us to develop further RJD's knowledge and understanding of the services and leisure sectors, and we look forward to benefiting from their expertise in the years ahead.”

RJD Partners is currently investing its second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund II.