Tushingham Sails owns the world-leading inflatable Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) brand Red Paddle Co. Red Paddle is the world’s only dedicated inflatable SUP brand, sold in 60 countries. 

The Deal

We provided £4 million as a combined debt and equity package to allow the business to maintain its leading position in an attractive and growing niche in the watersports sector.

The Plan

The global SUP market is in a significant growth phase. The funding will allow the business to invest in working capital to fund further international growth.

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Master Removers Group provides specialist and extremely well-regarded logistics, storage and removals services to international businesses and domestic consumers alike. Its iconic Aussie Man & Van and Anthony Ward Thomas brands are well known across London, with MRG counting Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom and the Archbishop of Canterbury as clients.

The Deal

We invested £7.2 million in MRG in December 2014 to support an equity release for the shareholders of the business. Our funding was provided as a combined debt and equity package. Management was attracted to us as high levels of rollover and strong fixed asset cover enabled us to construct a deal that saw them retain a majority stake in the business post completion. Extremely strong cash generation at MRG enabled the entirety of our loan stock to be repaid in January 2016 and dividend payments to commence just 13 months after the original buyout.

The Plan

MRG is run by a high-quality management team with strong operational capabilities and a proven track record in making astute, add-on acquisitions, the latter of which was a key component of the strategy adopted for the group post completion. Since our investment, MRG has made five acquisitions to accelerate its expansion outside London and into the West of England. Taken together, the business has increased utilisation of its warehouse, vehicle and labour resources in turn increasing its turnover, profitability and cash generation substantially since the investment was made. 

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One of the UK’s leading wholesale communications infrastructure providers, Entanet uses third party networks to deliver a wide range of connectivity and telecommunication products and services to small business customers. 

The Deal

We originally backed CEO Elsa Chen and her management team in the MBO of Entanet in February 2014, committing a total of £9.5m and introducing experienced Chairman Richard Atkins to the Board. In 2017, we realised our investment in a £29m sale to CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings plc. 

The Impact

Since the original investment, the Entanet management team  worked with us to refine their business model and introduce new products and services. As a result, annual revenues grew from £27m to £36m at the time of the sale. The deal with CityFibre delivered an initial return of 2.5x for Mobeus-advised funds, with potential for this to increase to in excess of 2.7x over the next two years. Initial IRR to shareholders was 38.7%, potentially increasing to 40.9%.

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Award-winning The Gro Company invented the Grobag Baby Sleep Bag, approved by The Lullaby Trust. Having sold over three million Grobags worldwide, Gro is known as the ‘official baby sleep bag’ brand and has expanded its product range across nursery care and sleep solutions.

The Deal

We backed the MBO of Gro from the original founders in March 2013, investing £7.1m as a Combined Debt and Equity package. We worked alongside the management team to professionalise and expand the business, introducing Chairman Jules Hydleman with a strong record in consumer brands. In 2018, the business was sold to Mayborn Group, the owner of the tommee tippee brand, for an enterprise value of £22m.

The Impact

Following the MBO, Gro launched a range of new products and expanded internationally. It now sells in more than 25 countries. The exit represented a total return of over 2x money and an IRR of over 20%.

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Automated Systems Group is a leading provider of printing and copying solutions to SMEs and the education sector. ASL was founded in 1991 and manages over 5,000 customers from its nine offices across East Anglia, the Midlands, London and the South of England.

The Deal

Mobeus backed ASL in 2010, as a buy-and-build platform in a large, mature but fragmented industry. Supported by Mobeus, ASL’s management team pursued an M&A programme, as well as achieving organic growth, to consolidate its market position. It has completed ten acquisitions, most recently of ICA in February 2018 and of Geerings in November 2018. In June 2019, we sold our investment in a secondary buyout backed by Primary Capital Partners.

The Impact

ASL more than trebled EBITDA over the investment period and now employs 158 people (up from 60 in 2010). The sale to Primary represents a 2.2x money multiple on the Mobeus total investment of £9.7 million. 

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Jablite is the UK’s largest producer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation products.

The Deal

Jablite was a subsidiary of a larger European EPS maker, which was sold piecemeal by its private equity owners. We provided a combined debt and equity investment of £5 million in addition to arranging a £16.5 million sale and leaseback of the company’s property portfolio. This was a complex transaction that included separation of the UK operations from that of its European parent and the carve-out of two defined benefit pension schemes.

The Plan

The investment was significantly de-risked with £3.5 million of the £5 million investment being repaid to the VCTs within five months of completing the deal, at a time when the UK construction market was recovering from a low point during the recession. The focus is now on seeking fresh ways to engineer the product to reduce manufacturing costs.

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Virgin Wines works with its network of trusted suppliers and winemaking partners from around the world to source, design, blend and sell award-winning and largely exclusive premium wines. These wines are sold through its WineBank and Wine Plan subscription schemes and on a pay-as-you-go basis. The Group also operates B2B and gift sales channels and recently expanded its product offering to include carefully curated collections of premium spirits and craft beers.

The Original Deal

Mobeus invested £8.7 million in Virgin Wines in 2013.

The IPO

Mobeus supported the Initial Public Offering of Virgin Wines on AIM. The offering was substantially oversubscribed, attracting strong interest from quality institutional investors. The market capitalisation of Virgin Wines at the time of Admission, based on the Placing Price of 197 pence per share, was approximately £110 million. The Mobeus VCTs own approximately 36.1% of the issued Ordinary Shares. 

The Impact

Virgin Wines now has the platform to execute its ambitious growth plans, as it leverages key strengths to continue to win market share and drive shareholder value. Mobeus VCT Shareholders retain access to future growth from this distinctive, direct-to-consumer business, set to benefit further from the shift to convenience.

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ATG’s mission is to be the global marketplace connecting bidders, businesses, collectors, consigners, contractors, and consumers to an under-explored world curated by thousands of trusted auctioneer experts.

The Original Deal

Following an initial £4.5 million investment from Mobeus in 2008, ATG branched out to online auctions. A further £4.5 million financed the acquisition of BidSpotter. Following rapid growth, Mobeus partially realised its investment in 2014 to a secondary buyout by ECI Partners, retaining a significant holding. 

The Realisation 

Mobeus fully exited its investment to TA Associates for an undisclosed sum.

The Impact 

The business was transformed into a high-tech provider of marketplace technology, expanding into new verticals and new geographies, driven by the consumer shift online, as well as its market leading technology and strong brand recognition. The ATG sale generated a Money Multiple of 4.5x on cost of £9 million to the Mobeus VCTs; a 29% IRR.

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