Private equity takes major stake in Andrew Page group

PRIVATE equity firm Phoenix is taking a majority stake in Andrew Page, the vehicle parts distributor, in one of the biggest deals of the year to date.

The transaction, which values the family-owned business at around 100m, is set to complete this week, the Yorkshire Post can reveal.

John Rastrick, a partner at Phoenix, said: "This is a very strong Yorkshire business with heritage that has been very successful under family ownership and is building for the future with external investment and backing for the existing management team."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The team, led by managing director Mark Roberts and finance director Mark Day, will take a stake in the company, while chairman Andrew Page will remain a shareholder.

Mr Page, 57, is investing "significantly" in the company and will be chairman of the trading company following the deal.

The company distributes vehicle parts through a high-speed delivery service from 46 regional distribution centres across the North of England and the Midlands. Customers include independent garages, servicing centres and retailers. It is based in Leeds and has around 1,100 employees.

The company is on course for a turnover of 110m this year, up 15 per cent from last year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Roberts said the company will continue to open new branches and added: "Growth has continued through the recession. We invested heavily."

The company opened four new branches in the last 12 months and has maintained investment in staff training, with around 500 employees on NVQ courses.

New distribution centres open in Leicester in early April and Kings Lynn soon after.

Mr Roberts said: "We want to continue the success we have had in the past. We are striving to be successful because we enjoy what we are doing."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Phoenix tracked the business for a number of years because of its high quality reputation and strong financial performance, said Mr Rastrick.

He added: "One of the attractions for Phoenix is the resilience of this business through the downturn.

"It's performing very strongly due to the quality of Andrew and the management team and the nature of the market it operates in. Servicing vehicles is a non-discretionary spend."

HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland Lloyds TSB are providing facilities for the management team, although the company was keen to stress it was not taking on lots of debt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Page said: "We would not have done the deal if it was over-leveraged because the business and the people are more important."

The deal was funded and advised entirely from Yorkshire.

Stuart Warriner, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, arranged and structured the finance, while Yunus Seedat of Addleshaw Goddard and Christian Mayo of KPMG advised Mr Page and the management team. Mr Warriner and Jonathan Jones of Hammonds advised Phoenix.

The investment is the 12th from the private equity firm's 375m fund, which was raised in 2006.

It is Phoenix's second recent automotive sector transaction; it sold Nationwide Autocentres, a chain of 220 car service centres, to Halfords Group earlier this year.

Good customer service the key to success

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andrew Page was formed in 1946 by two partners, including Jim Page, Andrew's father.

Andrew joined the business in 1973 and with his father bought out the other partner in 1979.

Andrew built up a network of customers, serviced by vans carrying parts, creating enough demand over time to open a branch.

He then replicated the model across other areas, creating 10 branches. By 1998, the company had 20 branches; growing to 30 by 2002.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Today the company has more than 50,000 product lines and carries out 11,000 deliveries a day. It receives 20,000 phone calls every day.

Mr Page said the growth was underpinned by good customer service and "making sure you look after customers".

He described his father as "a true gritty Yorkshireman".

Mark Roberts joined as deputy managing director in 2004 from Bosch, a supplier to the company, to help drive new areas of the business. He took responsibility for running the business by 2007.