Volvox set for its next phase with sale to Elysian Capital

Private equity firm LDC yesterday revealed that it had exited its investment in Volvox Group through a sale to Elysian Capital for an undisclosed sum.

Volvox, which is based in Leeds, designs, sources and distributes products for the private and commercial vehicle markets, including lighting, camera systems, car accessories and air compressors.

LDC originally backed the £12m management buyout of Volvox in 2005 with a £5m investment to expand its product range and increase the size of its warehousing and distribution facilities in Leeds. It also helped the company to sell products overseas.

During the last six years, turnover has risen 60 per cent from £25m to £40m. The company has around 200 staff.

John Hall, the chief executive of Volvox Group, said: “LDC has been a critical ingredient in our success over the last six years.

“The financial support, expert guidance, board room challenge and commercial opportunities they’ve provided have enabled us to transform Volvox Group into an international leader in our field, setting the scene for our next phase of growth with Elysian Capital. LDC’s partnership approach, based on supporting management’s objectives to accelerate growth, has made this an enjoyable and rewarding journey for our people and our customers.

“Elysian’s operational experience within distribution and automotive markets will, I am sure, help us take advantage of the opportunities that we have identified for new markets, products and customers.”

John Swarbrick, a senior director of LDC in Yorkshire, said: “The team at Volvox has made enormous progress over the last six years, bringing scale and sophistication to its supply chain management, expanding its international reach to secure new growth and continuing to innovate the market with new product development.

“This is a perfect example of how our private equity model can unlock potential within a business through strategic, financial and operational support in order to create significant shareholder value.”

James Cunningham, operating partner of Elysian Capital and the new chairman of Volvox Group, said: “Volvox’s broad penetration of resilient sectors within the £4bn automotive aftermarket has ensured the company has delivered a robust performance during the recent economic downturn.”

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Acquisition Finance in Leeds provided debt funding to support the Elysian deal.

Christian Mayo led the KPMG Corporate Finance team who advised Elysian on the acquisition.

Phil Abram led the KPMG Transaction Services team who provided advice to Elysian.

The sale process was handled by Deloitte by a team including Paul Trickett, Dan Renton and Barry Jackson. Squire Sanders Hammonds, led by Jonathan Jones and Paul Mann, provided legal advice to the shareholders and the MBO team.

Jim Whittaker provided management advice to the MBO team.

Elysian was advised by Robin Skelton, Jonathan Pollard and David Milne of Eversheds. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets was advised by Phil Scott at Pinsent Masons.