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Successful management buy-out launches Spirit Capital
15 September 2008
Left to right: Andy Glennon, Francesco Santinon and Colin Stirling have lead a management buy-out to form Spirit Capital.
The senior executives of the former private equity team of Aberdeen Asset Management Plc (“Aberdeen”) today announced the successful completion of a management buy-out to create a new independent private equity business, Spirit Capital.
Spirit Capital Partners LLP has been established by Francesco Santinon, supported by fellow partners Andy Glennon and Colin Stirling. Industry veteran Graham Dewhirst, former partner and Head of Investor Relations at Bridgepoint, will join the new business as Chairman. A further seven executives from the former Aberdeen private equity team have transferred to the new entity. The business will continue to operate nationally from offices in London and Leeds.
Spirit Capital has assumed the management of circa £100 million of private capital from Aberdeen and will continue to work with the current portfolio of investments.
Spirit Capital backs established management teams to acquire businesses valued at between £10 million and £50 million in those sectors demonstrating the key attributes of growth and underlying resilience. Value creation is achieved through a programme of active portfolio management. Sectors currently of interest include environmental, specialist industrial services and healthcare.
The buy-out follows on from a very active and successful period for the business both in terms of new investment and realisations. Recent investments include land regeneration specialist EDSR, oil and environmental services provider Adler & Allan and the UK’s leading independent fleet performance improvement business FMG Support. During the same period, the business exited coachbuilder Plaxton and aerospace composite manufacturer Brookhouse, both to strategic trade buyers, each achieving attractive returns for investors.
Francesco Santinon, Managing Partner of Spirit Capital, commented: “Completion of the buy-out provides us with the opportunity to assume an independent status which will be beneficial for all parties particularly our investors and is generally now preferred by those who actively invest in private equity. We are very proud of the track record we created over recent years as part of Aberdeen and now look forward to continuing to enhance our position in the UK lower mid-market.”
Graham Dewhirst, Chairman of Spirit Capital, commented: “I have been very impressed by the drive and vision of Francesco and his team and look forward to using my experience to support this further. The lower mid-market segment of the UK private equity market has perhaps suffered from a reducing number of focused managers in recent years and therefore I believe investors and management teams alike will be attracted to Spirit Capital’s offering.”