Researched and compiled by BUYOUT TRACK · Research,thelowestfigurefor25years. Some companies, such as Apax-backed ... have transformed firms into mid-market superstars. LDC, part

Large leveraged deals have driedup, some experienced private-equity managers have steppeddown and many companiesowned by private-equity firms

are in difficulties. It is no exaggeration tosay that the past year has been disastrousfor private equity.With bank debt so scarce, there has been

a sharp decline in buyouts and exits. Only117 private-equity-backed buyouts of anysize were completed in 2009, according tothe Centre for Management BuyoutResearch, the lowest figure for 25 years.Some companies, such as Apax-backed

IncisiveMedia and the broadcaster SetantaSports, have been unable to support debtrepayments and have been handed to thebanks. More positively, last month KKRagreed to pay Bridgepoint £955m for theretailer Pets at Home, beating off competi-tion from other private-equity investors.This year’s fourth annual Sunday Times

Deloitte Buyout Track 100, compiled by theOxford-based research and networkingevents companyFastTrack, ranksbusiness-es, with at least 20% private-equity back-ing, with the fastest-growing profits under£50m. Profits are measured as earningsbefore interest, tax, depreciation andamortisation (ebitda). The 10 Biggest, withprofits of more than £50m, are featuredseparately on page 8.The table is a portrait of private-equity-

owned firms on either side of the bankingmeltdown. The research, which measuresthe performance of portfolio companies byprofit growth over their latest two finan-cial years — rather than returns achievedon exit — predominantly covers the lastyear of the boom and the beginning of adeep recession. Nearly two-thirds of thisyear’s firms have been rated on their latest

available figures between 2006 and 2008and their performance may have changedsince then.The research also highlights the private-

equity firms and management teams thathave transformed firms into mid-marketsuperstars. LDC, part of Lloyds BankingGroup, has more portfolio companies inthis year’s Buyout Track 100 than any otherprivate-equityhouse,with ten of its invest-ments making the grade, including thedrinks manufacturer InterContinentalBrands (No65) and the fake-tan supplierSt Tropez (No77). Inflexion Private Equityhas five firms on the roster, while 3i,Gresham andHg Capital have four each.Despite some media hostility towards

the private-equity industry, Buyout Track100 firms have increased their profits by anaverage of 57% a year over their latest twofinancial years, to a combined profit of£1.3 billion, only slightly lower than lastyear’s £1.5 billion. Together, their salestotal £8 billion, up from £5 billion over thetwo years. They have also added 25,505 jobsto their payrolls in the period, althoughmany of these positions are the result ofacquisition andmay not be safe long term.Indeed, acquisitions and bolt-on deals

completed in better times have drivengrowth at many companies. At least 10firms in the Buyout Track 100 and in the 10Biggest list are pursuing buy-and-buildstrategies. Another 25 have improved prof-its significantly through acquisitions. Gre-sham-backed Leasedrive Velo (No89) wasformed when the fleet management busi-ness Leasedrive acquired rival Velo in 2007.Giles Insurance (No13) and fellow insurerOval (No 85) snapped up 54 companiesbetween them over the past two years.Profit growth through spectacular

improvement in margins is less in evi-dence. A third of the companies recorded afall in operating-profit margins duringtheir latest financial year and a further

third increased margins by less than 2%.Unsurprisingly, the credit crunch and

recession have led to a sharp fall in thenumber of buyouts. Only 11 league tablefirms have been acquired by private-equityinvestors in the past 12 months, comparedwith 26 in the 2009 league table.This could beabout to change. InDecem-

ber Apax completed the biggest private-equity deal of 2009 when it snapped upMarken (No38) for £975m, a move that waswidely read as a sign that the market isturning. As Britain moves out of recessionand valuations reach more realistic levels,Buyout Track 100 companies will start torefresh their strategies and prepare foracquisitions once again, says Deloitte’sMark Pacitti on page 3.Across the market, private-equity hous-

es have struggled to realise their invest-ments in a market that has little appetitefor acquisitions or stock-market flotations.Only three backers of companies in lastyear’s Buyout Track 100 have completedexits compared with ten last year — andnone of these was a flotation. But as condi-tions improve, several larger companiesare planning stock-market flotations,including Apax-backed Promethean(No20) and, from this year’s Biggest 10 list,Blackstone’sMerlin Entertainments Groupat (No1) and Softbank-backed Betfair (No 6).As Jon Herbert of Lloyds TSB CorporateMarkets explains on page 4, managementteams that enjoy strong relationships withtheir banking partners will be well-placedto take advantage if, as expected, deal activ-ity picks up this year.

Moneybookers, theNo1 company in thisyear’s Buyout Track 100, is also eyeing a flo-tation, according to Martin Ott, its jointmanaging director. The online paymentsbusiness, in which Investcorp owns a 51%stake, has apparently proved so popularthat even eBay, which owns rival PayPal,offersMoneybookers as a payment option.What sets Moneybookers apart is that

customers canmake and receive paymentsin local currencies, which has encouragedforeign shoppers to take advantage of theweak pound to buy from British retailers.Salesmore thandoubled in 2008while prof-its have grown 177% a year from £1.8m in2006 to £13.9m in 2008.Moneybookers is one of nine financial-

services companies in a league table that isdominated by business service providers.

These include a number of recruitmentbusinesses such as Pulse Staffing (No 6),Alexander Mann Solutions (No68) and RedCommerce (No80).Some consumer businesses continue to

performwell, too. The online sports retailerWiggle (No 49), posh crisp maker KettleFoods (No 76), and shoe retailer Office(No93) are among 17 such firms on the list.Unsurprisingly, many of this year’s

firms are in counter-cyclical or recession-proof sectors. Businesses that assess or col-lect debt, such as Callcredit InformationGroup (No 2), Lowell Group (No 78) and 1stCredit (No 97), have fared well. Discountretailers such as Frozen Value (No 36),which trades as Jack Fulton, and Pound-land (No92) have also performed strongly.Coffee Nation (No 73), which offers a self-

service alternative to expensive take-awaycoffee, has also expanded rapidly duringthe period.A handful of entrepreneurs with comp-

anies in this year’s league table, includingPeterWilliams, founderof thepreppycloth-ing retailer Jack Wills (No 22), and MikeClare, founder of bed retailer Dreams(No82), have decided to sell some or all oftheir venture and begin realising some ofthe wealth they have created. UBS WealthManagement’s Michael Bishop considersthe risks and rewards on page 6.As the recession recedes but leaves

behind a difficult marketplace, successfulmanagement teams like those in the Buy-out Track 100 will have to achieve returnsthehardway—bybuildingefficient, profit-able and saleable businesses.

Private equity backed

companies with the

fastest growing

profi ts

In association with

FAST TRACK

Deals have almostvanished and manyinvestments are indifficulties, butBuyout Track 100companies are stillshowing impressiveprofit growth, saysCatherine Wheatley

Buyout Track 100 is researchedand compiled by Fast Track, theOxford-based networking eventsand research company that ranksBritain’s top-performing privatecompanies and provides a networkfor entrepreneurs tomeet.

BUYOUTTRACK

Researched and compiled by

February 7, 2010

2 BUYOUTTRACK100

THERULESOFENGAGEMENTTHEBuyout Track 100 league table ranksBritain’smid-market private-equity-backedcompanieswith the fastest-growingprofits over the latest two years.Criteria:Companies had to be registeredin the UK and be independent, unquotedand ultimate holding companies. At least20%of a company’s equitymust be ownedby a private-equity fund.Profits had to exceed £1m in the base

year and £3m, but be less than £50m, in

the latest accounts. Companies had toshowan increase in profits frompenultimate to latest financial year.The latest sales had to be above £10m.Companieswith profits above £50mareincluded in a separate “Biggest 10”league table, featured on page 8.Profits are defined as earnings before

interest, tax, depreciation andamortisation (ebitda). Exceptionals, jointventures and impairment of assetswereexcluded. Ebitdawas selected becauseprivate-equity houses generally use ebitdaas the best indicator of a company’s profit.Profit growthwasmeasured by

compound annual growth rate (CAGR)over the two financial years up to thecompanies’ latest available figures. Theleague table is based on historical data,with September 2009 being the latestfinancial year end fromwhich auditedfigures are featured. Some figures aretaken fromunaudited andmanagementaccounts.Note that the sponsors of the Buyout

Track 100 do not endorse, guarantee orrecommend any of the named companies.Data collection:Companieswereidentified in severalways. Somewere putforward by private-equity funds. Others

were discovered by researching accountsfiled at Companies House. The accountswere provided by Bureau vanDijk’s FameandExperian’s Corporate Researcher, anddeal details by Bureau van Dijk’s Zephyrand Experian’s CorpfinWorldwide. Dealnotifications came from IncisiveMedia’sUnquote/Private Equity Insight database.We have endeavoured to track andmonitor all UK-based private-equitybacked companies. Nevertheless, wemay havemissed some companies, andfeedback or nominations for next year’stable arewelcome.Short-listed companieswere

interviewed by phone. In addition, overhalf of the short-listed companieswerevisited by Fast Track researchers duringthe course of the research.Ownership:We included companiesbacked by UK and overseas private-equityand venture-capital firms aswell asinfrastructure funds such as GlobalInfrastructure Partners, which ownsLondonCity Airport.Incomplete information:Companies thatfiled their accounts late and those accountsthatwere not processed by our researchdeadline of January 1, 2010were excluded,aswere deals done after this deadline.

Some exceptionsweremade to thequalification criteria set out above. Thecompiler’s decision is final and nocorrespondencewill be entered into.

1 Moneybookers Online payment provider Central London Dec 08 177.44% 13,914 1,808 27,358 232 Investcorp (51%), founders and management (49%) 3

2 Callcredit Information Group Credit risk evaluator Leeds Dec 08 173.40% 9,934 1,329 49,345 640 Vitruvian Partners (majority), management (minority) 3

3 Lovefilm.com Online DVD rental West London Dec 08 145.67% 8,755 *1,451 73,073 346 Private equity consortium (50%), Amazon (32%), founders (15%), managers (3%) 3

4 Amco Group Infrastructure and drilling contractor Barnsley Dec 08 133.37% *20,945 3,846 *106,882 781 Endless LLP (53%), management (47%) 3

5 UPP University accommodation provider Central London Aug 09 126.77% 31,754 6,175 67,796 338 Barclays European Infrastructure (100%) 3

6 Pulse Staffing Healthcare recruiter Hertfordshire Dec 08 123.00% 6,559 1,319 137,775 327 Hg Capital (74%), Fidelity Special Situations (10%), management (16%) 3

7 Kew Green Hotels Hotel operator West London Aug 08 105.54% 10,551 2,497 41,348 906 Moorfield Group (25%), Lloyds Banking Group (20%), management (55%) 3

8 44 Reservoir Group Oilfield services provider Aberdeen Dec 08 103.17% †20,389 4,939 †42,981 210 SCF Partners (69%), management (31%) 3

9 TSC Foods Chilled food manufacturer Scunthorpe Dec 08 97.93% 4,513 1,152 31,806 305 Key Capital Partners (more than 50%), management (less than 50%) 3

10 Wireless Infrastructure Group Wireless tower operator Lanarkshire Dec 08 92.45% 10,019 2,705 15,671 29 Royal Bank of Scotland (45%), Penta Capital (20%), management (35%) 3

11 Cognita Schools operator Milton Keynes Aug 08 92.43% 22,866 6,175 110,562 2,428 Englefield Capital (81%), management (19%) 3

12 Seafood Holdings Fish and meat wholesaler Hertfordshire Jan 09 91.06% 4,994 1,368 81,800 535 Risk Capital Partners (24%), Toby Baxendale (76%) 3

13 3 Giles Insurance Insurance broker Central London Aug 09 90.39% 22,830 6,298 †72,136 993 Charterhouse (65%), Chris Giles (20%), other management (15%) 4

14 Parasol Payroll services provider Warrington Apr 09 87.26% 3,589 1,024 366,131 8,110 Inflexion Private Equity (65%), Rob Crossland (25%), other management (10%) 4

15 Fullwood Dairy equipment manufacturer Shropshire Dec 08 86.98% 6,836 1,955 75,614 617 3i (20%), family and management (80%) 4

16 58 Moody International Technical services provider West Sussex Dec 08 82.92% 41,193 12,311 249,232 4,796 Investcorp (75%), management (25%) 4

17 Ultimate Products Homeware designer and importer Oldham Jul 09 78.03% †5,163 1,629 †59,164 190 LDC (46%), management (54%) 4

18 Air Energi Recruitment consultancy Manchester Dec 08 76.22% 5,348 1,722 113,745 110 Zeus Private Equity (40%), management (60%) 4

19 Inspicio Testing services provider Central London Dec 08 75.16% *39,524 12,883 *292,749 7,633 3i (78%), management (22%) 4

20 Promethean Educational technology developer Blackburn Dec 08 74.97% 22,006 7,188 151,041 633 Apax (24%), Cann trustees (55%), management and staff (21%) 4

21 RFIB Holdings Insurance and reinsurance broker Central London Jun 09 73.52% 6,506 *2,161 38,313 315 FF&P Private Equity (40%), management and staff (60%) 4

22 Jack Wills Clothing retailer Northwest London Jan 09 72.88% 7,686 2,572 41,778 1,130 Inflexion Private Equity (27%), management (73%) 4

23 Mountain Warehouse Outdoor clothing retailer Southwest London Feb 09 69.28% 6,342 2,213 31,616 415 Kcaj (40%), management (60%) 4

24 Mentor IMC Group Oil industry consultancy East London Jul 09 69.22% *4,392 1,534 *40,902 13 Iceni Capital (55%), management (45%) 4

25 Premier Medical Medical services provider Shropshire Dec 08 68.93% 6,367 2,231 40,889 316 Nomura Private Equity (59%), management (41%) 4

26 89 Protocol Skills Vocational training provider Cheshire Jun 08 68.68% *6,885 2,420 *38,025 826 CBPE Capital (75%), D Wright (8%), other management (16%) 4

27 Healthcare Homes Care-home operator Essex Sep 08 64.77% *5,495 2,024 *26,255 788 Bowmark Capital (80%), management (20%) 4

28 Webfusion Web hosting services Uxbridge Dec 08 64.35% *20,832 7,712 *91,960 500 Oakley Capital (100%) 4

29 Achilles Group Supply chain manager Abingdon Apr 09 62.34% 7,500 2,846 31,100 479 Hg Capital (69%), management (31%) 4

30 45 Integrated Dental Holdings Dental practice operator Bolton Apr 09 61.00% *†31,888 *12,302 *†159,976 2,121 Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity (80%), management (20%) 4

31 OSS Group Waste oil recycler Merseyside Dec 08 59.49% 6,109 2,402 24,964 170 Dunedin Capital (42%), management and staff (42%), former directors (16%) 4

32 Lifeways Community Care Community care provider Southwest London May 09 58.91% 5,049 1,999 49,317 2,195 August Equity (78%), management (22%) 4

33 International Tubular Services Oilfield services provider Aberdeen Dec 08 57.44% 24,284 9,797 78,269 970 Lime Rock Partners (34%), Robert Kidd (66%) 4

34 Enpure Environmental engineer Birmingham Mar 09 55.97% 3,491 1,435 81,417 200 Spirit Capital (80%), management (20%) 5

35 22 Eve Trakway Temporary roadway provider Chesterfield Mar 09 55.68% 5,093 2,101 17,459 163 LDC (minority), management (majority) 5

36 Frozen Value Value food retailer Barnsley Jan 09 54.62% 3,072 1,285 47,843 761 3i (40%), management (60%) 5

37 Hydrobolt Bolt manufacturer Wolverhampton Mar 09 54.60% *3,337 1,396 *17,792 175 Octopus Private Equity (48%), management (52% ) 5

38 Marken Pharmaceutical logistics provider West London Dec 08 53.96% *46,283 *19,527 *103,167 325 Apax Partners (67%), management (33%) 5

39 VSG Security provider Northampton Mar 09 53.64% 4,878 2,067 105,857 4,451 LDC (40%), management (60%) 5

40 Go Outdoors Outdoor equipment retailer Sheffield Jan 09 52.62% 3,273 1,405 41,188 302 YFM Group (23%), management (77%) 5

41 Weldex Crane hirer Inverness Nov 08 51.86% 12,573 5,452 27,500 116 NVM Private Equity (30%), McGilvray family (70%) 5

42 7 London City Airport Airport operator East London Dec 08 51.04% 40,870 17,915 79,671 385 Global Infrastructure Partners (75%), Highstar (25%) 5

43 14 EIC Building services provider West Midlands Dec 08 50.91% †7,121 3,127 †82,100 588 MML Capital Partners (67%), management (33%) 5

44 Inchcape Shipping Services Marine services provider Essex Dec 08 50.90% 30,073 13,207 271,746 3,498 Istithmar World Capital (100%) 5

45 Mayborn Baby products manufacturer Newcastle Dec 08 50.50% 16,939 *7,479 78,442 1,488 3i (47%), management (40%), other minority investors (13%) 5

46 Kelway IT services provider Northeast London Mar 09 50.11% 4,187 1,858 110,782 196 Core VC (25%), management and staff (75%) 5

47 40 Tangerine Confectionery Confectionery manufacturer Blackpool Dec 08 49.80% 7,939 3,538 131,006 1,235 Close Growth Capital (41%), management (40%), Appleby (13%),Toms Gruppen (6%) 5

48 8 Tensator Group Queue control specialist Milton Keynes Dec 08 49.79% †4,812 *2,145 †28,190 205 The Riverside Company (90%), management (10%) 5

49 Wiggle Online sports goods retailer Portsmouth Jan 09 49.53% 4,512 2,018 33,154 70 Isis Equity Partners (48%), management (52%) 5

50 Aesica Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Newcastle Dec 08 49.46% 9,840 4,405 108,077 677 LDC (60%), management (40%) 5

51 38 Tinopolis Film and television producer South Wales Sep 08 48.69% 6,451 2,918 67,648 381 Vitruvian Partners (70%), management (30%) 5

52 Loewy Group Marketing provider Central London Dec 08 48.24% 4,600 2,093 44,825 397 VSS & ABRY Partners (24%), other institutions (6%), management and staff (70%) 5

53 17 QHotels Hotel operator Leeds Dec 08 46.45% 37,415 17,446 130,186 1,930 Alchemy Partners (87%), management (13%) 5

54 Olaer Hydraulic equipment maker North Wales Dec 08 46.37% 9,992 4,664 125,437 472 Gresham (80%), management (20%) 6

55 Group GTI Graduate recruitment publisher Oxfordshire Apr 09 45.88% 7,849 3,688 25,183 249 Exponent Private Equity (60%), management (40%) 6

56 Optilan Telecoms systems integrator Coventry Oct 08 45.85% *†3,685 1,733 *†32,455 170 NVM Private Equity (41%), management (59%) 6

57 Bridgman Group Fine enforcement provider Central London Mar 09 44.44% 3,912 1,875 26,161 301 Gresham Private Equity (50%), management (50%) 6

58 Icon Polymer Group Rubber products manufacturer Nottinghamshire Sep 08 44.08% 3,033 1,461 18,359 255 LDC (48%), management (52%) 6

59 Minivator Stairlift manufacturer West Midlands Dec 08 43.83% 4,003 1,935 38,292 325 Gresham Private Equity (48%), Michael Lord (25%), other management (27%) 6

60 75 Energy Cranes Offshore services provider Aberdeen Dec 08 43.54% *18,699 9,076 *152,087 1,353 CBPE Capital (70%), management (30%) 6

61 Kellen Group Natural gas supplier Belfast Dec 08 43.11% 29,900 14,600 124,600 187 Terra Firma (100%) 6

62 Stewart Group Inspection and testing services Prescot Dec 08 42.84% †4,945 2,424 †32,939 570 CBPE (42%), management (58%) 6

63 Rixonway Kitchen manufacturer West Yorkshire Feb 09 42.80% 3,771 *1,849 23,363 345 August Equity Partners (60%), management (40%) 6

64 59 RP Martin Wholesale money broker Central London Sep 09 42.77% 15,266 7,489 84,847 331 Gresham Private Equity (43%), D Caplin (17%), other directors (10%), staff (30%) 6

65 InterContinental Brands Beverage manufacturer Harrogate Dec 08 42.10% †4,763 2,359 †49,366 143 Lloyds Development Capital (37%), management (63%) 6

66 90 National Fostering Agency Foster care agency West London Mar 09 41.65% †7,921 3,948 †47,921 189 Sovereign Capital (50%), Edwina Beech (21%), Michael Lovett (21%), staff (8%) 6

67 63 Castlebeck Specialist healthcare provider Darlington Dec 08 40.72% 26,663 13,464 75,331 1,678 Lydian Capital Partners (80%), management (20%) 6

68 Alexander Mann Solutions Recruitment services provider Central London Dec 08 40.17% *10,140 5,161 *341,353 914 Graphite Capital (69%), management (31%) 6

69 67 Wood Mackenzie Energy research consultancy Edinburgh Dec 08 38.81% 38,718 20,094 96,636 621 Charterhouse (77%), management and staff (23%) 6

70 19 Precise Media Group Media intelligence provider Central London Sep 08 38.22% 7,482 3,916 26,080 367 Phoenix Equity Partners (67%), management (33%) 6

71 QA Business training provider Slough May 09 38.19% 6,949 3,639 107,700 635 Englefield Capital (65%), management (35%) 6

72 Microlease Electronic equipment provider Northwest London Feb 09 37.63% 10,614 *5,604 22,687 118 LDC (71%), management (29%) 6

73 Coffee Nation Self-service coffee operator High Wycombe Mar 09 37.27% 3,049 1,618 †20,107 59 Milestone Capital Partners (68%), Investec (12%), management (20%) 6

74 FDM Group IT services provider Brighton Dec 08 37.04% 5,262 2,802 52,212 363 Inflexion Private Equity, management 6

75 21 Stone Computers Computer manufacturer Staffordshire Dec 08 37.02% *4,252 2,264 *64,510 218 RJD Partners (51%), James Bird (22%), other management (23%), retained (4%) 6

76 Kettle Foods Crisp manufacturer Norwich Sep 08 35.86% 12,743 6,904 58,997 371 Lion Capital (100%) 6

77 St Tropez Self-tanning supplier Nottingham Jul 09 35.67% 4,714 2,561 18,717 95 LDC (majority), management (minority) 6

78 2 Lowell Group Loan recovery agency Leeds Aug 09 34.46% †24,174 13,370 †46,864 369 Exponent Private Equity (81%), management (19%) 7

79 12 JDR Enterprises Cable manufacturer Cambridgeshire Mar 09 34.10% 9,945 5,530 75,115 362 Vision Capital and Goldman Sachs (75%), management (25%) 7

80 Red Commerce SAP recruitment agency Central London Mar 09 34.07% 3,879 2,158 51,540 103 Inflexion Private Equity (69%), management (31%) 7

81 TSL Education Educational publisher Central London Aug 08 33.90% 36,691 *20,465 72,046 214 Charterhouse Capital Partners (73%), management (27%) 7

82 24 Dreams Bed retailer High Wycombe Dec 08 33.22% 19,005 10,709 194,384 1,492 Exponent Private Equity (majority), management (minority) 7

83 Quotient Bioresearch Laboratory testing provider Cambridgeshire Mar 09 33.18% 5,717 3,223 34,174 475 TA Associates (35%), other management staff and institutional investors (65%) 7

84 Teaching Personnel Supply teacher recruiter Welwyn Garden City Nov 08 33.10% 4,606 2,600 43,294 175 RJD Partners (42%), management (58%) 7

85 Oval Insurance broker Wakefield May 09 32.92% †19,788 11,201 †104,635 1,246 Caledonia Investments (23%), Allianz (13%), management and staff (64%) 7

86 55 2e2 IT services provider Newbury Dec 08 32.90% 23,462 13,284 204,948 1,323 Duke Street Capital (58%), Bank of Scotland Corporate (11%), staff (31%) 7

87 35 Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Aircraft tyre manufacturer Birmingham Dec 08 32.89% 5,645 3,197 28,758 316 AAC Capital Partners (76%), management (24%) 7

88 Epyx E-trading platform developer Coventry Dec 08 32.73% 6,597 3,745 15,302 65 Hg Capital (49%), management (51%) 7

89 Leasedrive Velo Vehicle manager Berkshire Dec 08 32.46% 14,249 8,121 58,468 155 LDC (51%), management (49%) 7

90 88 Etc.venues Training venue provider Southeast London Jun 09 32.37% 3,947 2,253 14,790 185 Dunedin Capital Partners (57%), management and staff (43%) 7

91 Comtec Travel software developer South Wales Dec 08 32.11% 4,126 2,364 12,788 121 RJD Partners (51%), Simon Powell (33%), other management (16%) 7

92 Poundland Discount retailer West Midlands Mar 09 31.04% 20,026 11,662 396,188 5,474 Advent International (78%), David Dodd (12%), management (10%) 7

93 81 Office Shoe retailer Central London Jan 09 30.85% 10,503 6,135 113,180 1,655 West Coast Capital (95%), Brian McCluskey (5%) 7

94 16 Iris Software Business software developer Berkshire Apr 09 30.83% 41,142 24,038 119,204 1,330 Hellman & Friedman (majority), Hg Capital (minority), management (minority) 7

95 Survitec Group Safety equipment maker Belfast Mar 09 30.76% 27,721 16,214 151,117 1,304 Warburg Pincus, management 7

96 92 National Accident Helpline Legal services marketing agency Northamptonshire Dec 08 30.33% 7,219 *4,250 26,781 49 LDC (30%), Inflexion Private Equity (30%), management (40%) 7

97 1st Credit Debt collection agency Surrey Dec 08 29.89% 31,725 18,803 80,164 251 Bridgepoint (65%), management (35%) 7

98 41 AFI-Uplift Construction equipment supplier Wakefield Dec 08 29.33% 13,872 8,294 32,367 263 Barclays Private Equity (40%), management (60%) 7

99 Attenda Internet services provider West London Dec 08 29.22% 3,418 2,047 25,504 168 M/C Partners & Phoenix Equity Partners (52%), management (48%) 7

100 61 Yo Sushi Japanese restaurant operator Central London Nov 08 28.51% *4,880 2,955 *36,101 1,163 Quilvest Private Equity (71%), management (29%) 7

www.zephyrdealdata.com

Private equity backed firmswith fastest growing profits

† Unaudited accounts * Annualised figure

Rank 2010

Rank 2009

Activity

Location of H

Q

Financial year e

nd

Annual profit

growth

Latest profit,

£000s

Base-year profit,

£000s

Latest sales, £

000s

Main shareholders

PageStaff

Company

PlantHirer 114.24%

2 TORFXForeign currency provider 217.12%

tHir

1 MONEYBOOKERSOnline payment provider 177.44%

THIS London company’s online paymentservices have proved so popular that eveneBay, which owns the rival PayPal, offersthem as a payment option.Moneybookers allows anyone with

an email address to send and receivepayments online.Merchants are chargeda fee when they receivemoney from acustomer throughMoneybookers andthey pay commission on foreign-currencyexchanges. The company also chargescustomers a small fee when theywithdraw funds.Moneybookers’ technology allows it to

offset international transfers against oneanother so that, rather than the companymoving the funds for two transactions inopposite directions, it simply transfersthe net difference.According to the company’s website,

Moneybookers’ customers benefit fromcheaper and faster transactions. If atransfer through an international bankcosts up to £25, Moneybookers will do itfor less than 50p. The company alsoclaims it canmake some transactions

instantly rather than the two to five daysthat are typical for banks.Some 60,000merchants, ranging from

small businesses to industry giants suchas Skype and Thomas Cook, useMoneybookers’ services. The companyclaims that 10.5m online shoppers use ittomake payments, and that it gains13,000 new users a day. It says it hasprocessed £13.6 billion of transactions todate, in 40 different currencies, with anannual transaction value of £3 billion. Ina recent statement, the company claimedthat its e-commerce transaction volumessurged 120% last year.Moneybookers was founded in 2001 by

non-executive directors Daniel Klein andBenjamin Kullmann, who also own theventure-capital firm Gatcombe ParkVentures. In recent years they havestepped back from the day-to-dayoperations of the business and brought inseasoned technologymanagersMartinOtt and Nikolai Riesenkampff, who cuttheir teeth at firms like Lycos, the searchengine, and Jamster, themobile-phonecontent provider.In 2007 Investcorp bought a 51% stake

in the company, valuing it at £92m, andin 2009 put it up for sale with a reportedprice tag of £350m.

In 2008 the companymore thandoubled its sales to £27.4m and it hascontinued to grow during the recession.In part, this has been due to thriftycontinental consumers taking advantageof the weak pound to seek online bargainsfrom British retailers. The company’santi-fraud policy—wheremoney istransferred tomerchants only if thecustomer is satisfied with the goodsreceived— has also allowed it to takemarket share from rivals.With initiatives such as its

refer-a-friend programme, the companyis seeing a surge in its worldwidecustomers, particularly in southeast Asia.It is considering some small acquisitionsand recently launched aMoneybookersMastercard, which links direct to itscustomers’ payment accounts.Moneybookers announced in January

2010 that it will be integrating itspayment services into the Open Sourceplatform ofMagento, an e-commercesoftware provider. Merchants usingMagento softwarewill be able to offertheir customersMoneybookers’ range ofpayment options as standard.The company’s profits have grown

177% a year from £1.8m in 2006 to £13.9min 2008.

It has been a tough 12months for the financial-services sector but,despite this, Moneybook-ers, the online payment

business, has been developingnew products, expanding over-seas and hiringmore staff.The No 1 company in this

year’s Buyout Track 100 ispoised to launch the Money-bookersMastercard,which cus-tomers can use in the shops orto withdraw money from theironline accounts at cashpoints.The London business, backedby Investcorp, has also invest-ed in America, where it hassecured state licences so it cantrade. Even eBay, which ownsthe rival service PayPal, offersMoneybookers as a paymentoption. The firm has taken onmore than 100 employees in itslast financial year, bringing itstotal to nearly 400. Furtherahead, it is planning to developa payments service for mobilephones and increase its profilein Asia and Latin America.“We have made some anti-

cyclical decisions,” said MartinOtt, Moneybookers’ joint man-aging director. “Of course, wehave been cost-conscious. Wehave renegotiated our suppli-ers’ contracts and opted forviral marketing instead ofexpensive branding. But webelieved the crisis was a goodtime to grow the business.”

Last year the firm added 4mcustomers, it says, bringing thetotal to 10m, while profits havegrown 177% a year from £1.8min 2006 to £13.9m in 2008.After a tough year of cutting

costs and preserving cash,more private-equity-backedcompanies are starting to fol-low Moneybookers by expand-ing. As 2010 unfolds, Deloitteexpects to see more firms mov-ing out of survival mode andrefreshing their strategies inpreparation for growth, acquisi-tions and even a sale to newowners. The Deloitte CFO Sur-vey for the final quarter of 2009revealed that in the year ahead,finance directors plan to imple-ment expansionary strategiesto boost revenues and capitaliseon renewed economic growth.Some companies have seen

their cashflow fall sharply overthe past year as demand hasfallen away and competitionincreased. Others have man-aged tomaintain their perform-ance andnowsee opportunitiesto exploit the weakness of theircompetitors. Either way, manyleveraged businesses are find-ing they need to review theirstrategies, according to SamBaker, a partner in Deloitte’sstrategy consulting team.Lovefilm.com, theDVD rent-

al business at No3 in the leaguetable, already has a fresh blue-print for the months ahead.

Since its launch in 2002 thefirm, backed by a consortiumincluding DFJ Esprit, IndexVentures and Balderton Capi-tal, has built a substantial cus-tomer base through 11 acquisi-tions, and now it mails some4m DVDs each month to cus-tomers across Europe. But astechnology advances, the firmaims to evolve from a logisticsbusiness into a media comp-any. It has already developed adigital on-demand service —chief executive Simon Calverthinks this is likely to take overfromDVD rental in the future.Microlease (No 72) is also

renewing its growth strategyafter its private-equity backerLDC agreed to inject a further£8m last August. The company,which supplies specialist elec-tronic testing equipment, isattracting new customers byallowing small businesses topay in monthly, interest-freeinstalments, neatly side-step-ping the constrictions of itscustomers’ budgets.Last yearmany private-equi-

ty-backed companies, especial-ly in the retail, property andconstruction sectors, struggledto refinance themselves underthedoubleburdenof tough trad-ing conditions and large loanrepayments.Back in the heady days of

2007, a raft of deals were struc-tured with banking covenantsthat were not scheduled tochange for two to three years.But now much tougher termsare kicking in, and companiesare having to make big cuts intheir overall borrowing to staywithin their agreements. Atthe same time, the businessplans on which these dealswere based no longer bearmuch resemblance to the reali-ties of today’s markets.The estate agent Foxtons and

the gaming group Gala Coral,which appeared in the leaguetable in 2008, discovered totheir cost how burdensomedebt can be when profits fallshort of expectations.Over the coming months

Deloitte expects a second waveof restructuring as businesseswith good trading prospectsbut high debts prepare forexpansion.Themost common approach

for mid-market private-equity-backed companies seeking torestructure their borrowings is

to reset bank covenants inexchange for a fee, according toFenton Burgin, a partner inDeloitte’s expanding debt advi-sory group. In some cases,investors are taking more equi-ty in exchange for paying downdebt, and in others asset-basedlending is an option. However,many of the largest businessesare now turning to the capitalmarkets.Last year the state of the

stock market and the lack ofbank loans prevented largenumbers of private-equityback-ers from realising their invest-ments. Indeed, over the past 12months, successful exits wereachieved by investors in onlythree of last year’s BuyoutTrack 100 companies. Candoverdisposed of its stake in energyand mining consultancy WoodMackenzie, at No69 this year,toCharterhouse; LDCsoldapor-

tion of its holding in NationalAccident Helpline (No 96 thisyear) to Inflexion Private Equi-ty, while Hitec Vision PrivateEquity realised its investmentin the maritime consultancyNoble Denton (No32 last year)when it sold the business torival Germanischer Lloyd.But as the cycle continues

andvaluations reachmore real-istic levels, we expect private-equity exits to resume through

routes that were unfashionablein the boom years.During the heady days of

cheap and plentiful bank debt,secondary buyouts had becomethe exit of choice for many pri-vate-equity investors. In 2007they accounted for more thanhalf of all exits by value, accord-ing to the Centre for Manage-ment Buyout Research.But as Kraft’s recent takeover

of Cadbury demonstrates, thecombination of a weak poundand a wounded private-equityindustry is encouraging inter-national trade buyers to take akeen interest in British busi-nesses. For example, whenLion Capital put posh-crispmaker Kettle Foods (No 76) upfor sale at the end of last year,Pepsico’s Frito-Lay was amonga number of American compa-nies reported to be interested.As buyout activity in the pri-

vate-equity sector fell away,Deloittewas increasingly askedto find overseas purchasers forcompanies. Clients have foundthat Deloitte’s internationalcontacts and experience are apowerful advantage in cross-border transactions that are,inevitably, longer and morecomplex than a buyout dealbetween two British invest-ment houses.Stock-market investors have

been suspicious of private-equi-ty-backed flotations particul-arly since Debenhams wasrefloatedwith substantial debtsin 2006. Nevertheless, weexpect some large companieswith clear growth prospects tofloat in the coming months.The candidates include MerlinEntertainments, No1 on thisyear’s 10 Biggest list for a thirdconsecutiveyear. It is ownedbyBlackstone, the private-equitygiant. Apax Partners’ Prom-ethean, at No 20 in the leaguetable, is also reported to be eye-ing a flotation. According toMoneybookers’ Ott, his compa-ny is considering a float in 2011.As this year’s Buyout Track

100 have proved, recessionneednot prevent profit growth.We are proud to be supportingtheir performance.n Mark Pacitti, a corporate-finance partner at Deloitte, wastalking to Catherine Wheatley.

Thriving as online shopping becomes more popular: joint managing directors Nikolai Riesenkampff and Martin Ott

Mark Pacitti of Deloitte saysprivate-equity-backed companiesare reviewing their strategiesas the economy starts to grow

THE SUNDAY TIMEStimesonline.co.uk/business 07.02.10 3

Tills ring for online payment service

Buyout firms get setto ride the upswing

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2 CALLCREDIT INFORMATIONCredit risk evaluator 173.40%

THIS Leeds company provides creditcheck and identity verification servicesto corporate clients. It also provides anindebtedness service, which flagsconsumers who are taking onunaffordable levels of debt. CallcreditInformation Group was part of Skiptonbuilding society until December 2009,when Vitruvian Partners bought amajority stake in the business for anundisclosed sum. Chief executiveJohnMcAndrew and his team grewprofits 173% a year from £1.3m in 2006to £9.9m in 2008.

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3 LOVEFILM.COMOnline DVD rental 145.67%

LOVEFILM says it rents out 4mDVDs amonth to 1m subscribers in Britain andon the Continent. It also providesbranded DVD rental for the likes of Tesco,The Guardian and Odeon cinemas, andhas developed a digital on-demandservice. In 2008 chief executive SimonCalver rounded off 11 acquisitions bybuying Amazon’s European DVD rentalbusiness in a deal that gave Amazon a 32%stake in the London firm. A consortium,including DFJ Esprit, Index Ventures andBalderton Capital and previous ownersArts AllianceMedia, owns a further 50%.Profits have grown 146% a year froman annualised £1.5m in 2006 to £8.8min 2008.

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4 AMCO GROUPInfrastructure contractor 133.37%

THIS engineering companywas formedin 2008when the Endless private-equity

partnership backed David Jackson andIan Swire in the £9.4m buyout of somenon-core companies fromAmcoCorporation. Amco Group now comprisesAmalgamated Construction, AmcoDrilling and Amco Developments.Amalgamated Construction focuses onthemaintenance of transport and energyinfrastructure such as railways, tunnels,nuclear power stations, canal tunnelsand lock gates, while Amco Drilling isinvolved inmineral exploration inWestAfrica. Profits have risen 133% a yearfrom £3.8m in 2006 to an annualised£20.9m in 2008.

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5 UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPSAccommodation provider 126.77%

THIS London company finances, designs,builds and operates studentaccommodation for universities aroundthe country. It also buys leases onexisting buildings, which it refurbishesbefore renting the rooms to students.Barclays Private Equity bought a 74%stake, for an undisclosed sum, from thesupport services company Jarvis in 2004and acquired the remaining shares in2008. The firm recently won a contractto provide residential accommodationworth £133m for the University of Exeter.Such big contracts have boosted profits,which have risen 127% a year from £6.2min 2007 to £31.8m in 2009.

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6 PULSE STAFFINGHealthcare recruiter 123.00%

PULSE STAFFING is a Hertfordshirehealth and social-care services businessthat finds jobs for doctors, GPs, nurses,midwives, social workers, homecareworkers and scientists. It holds staffingcontracts for NHS Trusts, private

hospitals, social-service departments andlocal authorities. Hg Capital backed a£31m public-to-private buyout in 1999,when the companywas called SinclairMontrose Healthcare, and acquired amajority shareholding in 2008 fromBridgepoint Capital. Profits have risen123% a year from £1.3m in 2006 to £6.6min 2008 under chief executive RichardMacMillan.

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7 KEW GREEN HOTELSHotel operator 105.54%

HEADQUARTERED inWest London,KewGreenHotels owns or operates 21hotels under franchise brands that

include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza andDays Hotel. It was founded in 2001 byformerWelcome Break colleagues JeremyRichardson and Paul Johnson, backed byMoorfield Group and Bank of ScotlandCorporate, now Lloyds Banking Group.Opening the Courtyard byMarriott atGatwick airport in 2009 took its totalrooms to 2,340. Group profits have risen106% a year from £2.5m in 2006 to £10.6min 2008.

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8 RESERVOIR GROUPOilfield services provider 103.17%

RESERVOIR GROUP is a global providerof drilling tools and technology as well as

geological analysis to locate and extractoil and gas. SCF Partners, the Houstonoil investment firm, backed a £20msecondary buyout of the Aberdeencompany from 3i in 2007, and the cashenabled chief executive Pascal Bartettetomake a string of acquisitions. In 2008Reservoir bought five companies inAustralia, America and Britain,effectively doubling in size. Profits grew103% a year from £4.9m in 2006 to £20.4min 2008.

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9 TSC FOODSChilled food manufacturer 97.93%

THE Scunthorpe firm TSC Foodsmakeschilled and frozen products with longshelf lives. It specialises in sauces, readymeals and soups, including the Glorioussoup range that is endorsed by thecelebrity chefMarco PierreWhite.About 65% of its turnover comes fromsupplying retailers such as restaurants,supermarkets and pubs. TSC also suppliesingredients to other food producers anddevelops bespoke products for clients. InJuly 2009 Key Capital Partners backed a£24mmanagement buyout, appointingJonathan Skofic asmanaging director.Profits have risen 98% a year from £1.2min 2006 to £4.5m in 2008.

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10 WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTUREWireless tower operator 92.45%

THEWireless Infrastructure Groupoperatesmast and rooftop sites acrossBritain to providemobile-phone andbroadband users with a signal. It makesthesemasts available tomobile-phoneoperators as well as emergency servicesand utility companies even though theyoperate their own networks. The groupbuys long leases and income rights from

big landowners, such as Scottish andSouthern Energy and AnglianWater, andhas partnerships with Sainsbury’s andPunch Taverns tomake use of their sites.With 2,000 leases atmore than 1,000sites, profits have risen 92% a year from£2.7m in 2006 to £10m in 2008.

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11 COGNITASchools operator 92.43%

COGNITA owns 52 private schools acrossBritain, the Continent and southeastAsia. TheMilton Keynes companyeducatesmore than 15,000 students.In 2004 Englefield Capital backed a teamled by chairman ChrisWoodhead, formerchief inspector of schools, to acquire 18Asquith schools from Lyceum. Cognitais still on the acquisition trail, mostrecently buying three internationalschools in Thailand. Chief executiveReesWithers has overseen a profit riseof 92% a year from £6.2m in 2006 to£22.9m in 2008.

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12 SEAFOOD HOLDINGSFish and meat wholesaler 91.06%

TOBY BAXENDALE, the chief executive ofthis company, started out in 1992 buyingfish from Billingsgatemarket and sellingit to London restaurants. After snappingup a succession of rivals over the years,Seafood Holdings now sells more than£100m of fish a year to top restaurants,hotels, pubs and caterers. It also buysfrom Icelandic auctions and exports tothe Continent. It says that sourcing itsown productsmakes it easier todemonstrate environmental credentialsto customers. Risk Capital Partnersinvested £3m in the company for a 24%stake in 2006. Profits have swelled 91% ayear from £1.4m in 2007 to £5m in 2009.

Hold on tight: MerlinEntertainments, the

leisure-parks operator, isamong the companies thatare likely to float this year

A WEAK POUNDIS ENCOURAGINGINTERNATIONALBUYERS TO TAKEA KEEN INTERESTIN BRITISHBUSINESSES

‘‘

Sector breakdown of the Buyout Track 100

Business services20%

Consumer (including retail)17%

Energy, infrastructure,

utilities10%

Financial services

9%

Life sciences,

healthcare9%

Manufacturing8%

Professional pratices2%

Property (including construction)4%

Travel, hospitality, leisure5%

TMT16%

Jon Herbert of Lloyds TSBCorporate Markets looks at therelationship between banks,private equity and companies

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13 GILES INSURANCEInsurance broker 90.39%

GILES INSURANCE has acquired 22competitors in the past two years andnowhas 44 regional offices. The Londoncompany places insurance policies worthmore than £300m in premiums forindividuals and corporate clients.In 2008 Charterhouse Capital Partnersbacked a £185m secondary buyout fromGresham, taking a 65% stake andmakingavailable up to £500m to fund theacquisition spree. Profits have risen 90% ayear from £6.3m in 2007 to £22.8m in 2009under chief executive Chris Giles,whose father founded the company.

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14 PARASOLPayroll services provider 87.26%

THISWarrington company deals withpaperwork for freelance workers, issuinginvoices and handling tax calculations.In 2006 Inflexion Private Equity backed a£24mmanagement buyout led by founderandmanaging director Rob Crossland,and in January 2009 it injected capitalfor the acquisition of Quay Accounting,an accountancy services firm. Profitsgrew 87% a year from £1m in 2007 to£3.6m in 2009.

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15 FULLWOODDairy equipment maker 86.98%

FOUNDED as a London pharmacy in1785, RJ Fullwood & Bland now has14 subsidiaries in 8 countries. TheShropshire group has interests inindustries as diverse as cryogenicfreezing, pharmaceuticals and brewingbut its principal activity is themanufacture and supply of farmequipment formilking sheep, goats,cows, buffalos and camels. 3i took aminority stake in the 1960s, which itstill retains. Under chairman and chiefexecutive Richard Lancaster, profits grew87% from £2m in 2006 to £6.8m in 2008.

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16 MOODY INTERNATIONALTechnical services provider 82.92%

FOUNDED almost a century ago,MoodyInternational has built a network of 100offices inmore than 60 countries. TheWest Sussex company provides technicalinspection, staffing and training servicesto clients including ExxonMobil, BP andDow. It also offers certification services,ensuring that companies comply withregulations. Investcorp backed a £158msecondary buyout from Close Brothersin 2007 and since thenMoody hasmadea string of acquisitions, includingTexas-based Petrospect InspectionServices in October. Under chiefexecutive Brendan Connolly, profitshave grown 83% a year from £12.3min 2006 to £41.2m in 2008.

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17 ULTIMATE PRODUCTSHomeware designer 78.03%

ULTIMATE PRODUCTS claims to beBritain’s largest goods sourcing anddesign business, working with 450retailers, including Tesco, Marks &Spencer, Asda and Argos. Merchandiseis sold under customers’ brands orUltimate Products’ own and licensedbrands, and the company says that itcompetes with retailers’ owninternational sourcing operations. In2005, LDC invested £25m for a 46% share.The company, co-founded by chiefexecutive Simon Showman and partnerBarry Franks in 1997, has seen its profitsrise 78% a year from £1.6m in 2007 to£5.2m in 2009.

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18 AIR ENERGIRecruitment consultancy 76.22%

AIR ENERGI provides temporaryengineering and technical staff to the oiland gas industry. Building relationshipswith companies such as ExxonMobiland Shell has helped the business toflourish around the world. It has workedinmore than 50 countries and has officesin locations ranging fromKazakhstan toAlaska. In August 2009 chairman IanLangley and chief executive DuncanGregson led a £30mmanagement buyout,with backing from Zeus Private Equity.Profits grew 76% a year from £1.7m in 2006to £5.3m in 2008.

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19 INSPICIOTesting services provider 75.16%

WITHmore than 8,000 employees in 130countries, Inspicio provides testing,inspection and certification services. Ithas acquiredmore than 20 businesses tobuild its commodities, food andenvironmental testing divisions, whichanalyse everything frommilk to coal.The company also tested for groundcontamination at the 2012 LondonOlympics site. In 2008, 3i backed a £280mpublic-to-private buyout, taking a 78%stake. Inspicio’s profits have risen 75% ayear from £12.9m in 2006 to an annualised£39.5m in 2008 under chief executiveMark Silver.

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20 PROMETHEANEducation technologist 74.97%

PROMETHEAN says thatmore than 10mstudents in 90 countries use its Activeducational technology, which includeselectronic whiteboards, audiovisualequipment and software. Its onlinecommunity for teachers, PrometheanPlanet, shares lessons and resources.Promethean, whichmay float this year,has expanded internationally and itsNorth American business accounted formore than half its £151m 2008 turnover.In 2004 Apax Partners acquired a 30%stake in the Blackburn company and

the private-equity firm still retains 24%.Profits have grown 75% a year from £7.2min 2006 to £22m in 2008.

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21 RFIB HOLDINGSInsurance broker 73.52%

THE London company RFIB, whichwasfounded in 1980, provides specialistinsurance and reinsurance for customersin themarine and fine-arts sectors,including galleries andmuseums. It alsoinsures private individuals and offerscover against ransom, hijacking andextortion. In April 2007, FF&P PrivateEquity backed a buy-inmanagementbuyout, investing an undisclosed sum.Under outgoing chief executive PatrickHolcroft, profits at the company rose 74%a year from an annualised £2.2m in 2007to £6.5m in 2009.

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22 JACK WILLSClothing retailer 72.88%

THIS casual, upmarket clothes brand wasfounded in 1999 in Salcombe, Devon,though the company nowhas itsheadquarters in London. JackWills’spreppy range is sold in affluent universitytowns and seaside resorts as well as inLondon. In 2008 the company launchedAubin &Wills, targeting older customers,and is now eyeing the American andAsianmarkets. It relies exclusively onviral marketing. Inflexion Private Equitybought aminority stake in 2007,and founder PeterWilliams retains acontrolling stake. Profits have grown73% a year from £2.6m in 2007 to £7.7min 2009.

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23 MOUNTAIN WAREHOUSEOutdoor clothing retailer 69.28%

MOUNTAINWAREHOUSE sells gear forhiking, skiing and camping. Positioned atthe value end of themarket, the companyaims to undercut the prices of leadingoutdoor brands. Managing directorMarkNeale foundedMountainWarehouse in1997, and the retailer now has 98 stores

fromOrkney to Penzance, including fourin London. Kcaj, the private-equity armof investor Arev, backed a £15m secondarybuyout in 2007 fromNBGI Private Equity.Profits at the London firm have grown69% a year from £2.2m in 2007 to £6.3min 2009.

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24 MENTOR IMC GROUPOil industry consultancy 69.22%

FROMoffices in Britain, Singapore,Australia and America, Mentor IMCGroup supplies professional expertise tohelp its clients develop big oil and gasprojects around the world. Chiefexecutive John Richards founded thecompany in 1987. In 2008 Iceni Capitalbacked a buyout of it, investing anundisclosed sum. The booming oil andgas sector has helped profits grow 69% ayear from £1.5m in 2007 to an annualised£4.4m in 2009.

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25 PREMIER MEDICALMedical services provider 68.93%

WHEN someone is injured in a caraccident or workplace incident, PremierMedical Group assesses the injury andproduces expert opinions for legal andinsurance professionals. The Shropshirecompany claims to write 160,000 suchreports every year. It also providesaccess to rehabilitation services such asphysiotherapy and counselling. In 2008Nomura backed the buyout of PremierMedical from its founder, Harry Brünjes,who stayed on as chairman. At the sametime the firm acquiredMedico-LegalReporting for an undisclosed sum. Profitshave risen 69% a year from £2.2m in 2006to £6.4m in 2008.

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26 PROTOCOL SKILLSTraining provider 68.68%

PROTOCOL SKILLS deliversgovernment-funded apprenticeships andNVQ training to some 12,500 learners ayear in their place of work. The Cheshirecompany is particularly strong in the

hospitality and retail sectors, where itsclients include Asda, PCWorld, CarphoneWarehouse, New Look andMcDonald’s,and has recently expanded into the ITand residential care sectors. CBPE Capitalbacked a £47m secondary buyout fromBridgepoint in September 2007. Profitshave risen 69% a year from £2.4m in 2006to an annualised £6.9m in 2008 underchief executive DanWright.

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27 HEALTHCARE HOMESCare home operator 64.77%

THIS Colchester company led by formerCare UK colleagues Richard Clough,Graham Lomer and David Bates runsnursing and residential homes for theelderly and people with physicaldisabilities. Healthcare Homes acquiredthree care-home operators in 2008 andnowhas 23 homes and five day centresacross East Anglia. It also cares forpeople in their own homes throughitsManorcourt Homecare operation.Bowmark Capital backed a £75msecondary buyout fromAugust Equity inApril 2008. Profits have grown by 65% ayear from £2m in 2006 to an annualised£5.5m in 2008.

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28 WEBFUSIONWeb hosting services 64.35%

WEBFUSION has been helping people tocreate websites since 1997 and considersitself one of the pioneers of the UKwebhosting industry. TheWest Londoncompany hosts more than 1.4mwebsitesand 2.2m domain names under fivebrands. It has a German sister companyand recentlymoved into North America.Oakley Capital backed a £120m buyout ofthe web hosting division of Freedom 4Communications in 2008 and this wasnamedWebfusion. The company hassince sold off its Vialtus telecoms arm toDaisy Group for £42m in cash and shares.Profits have grown 64% a year from £7.7min 2006 to an annualised £20.8m in 2008.

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29 ACHILLES GROUPSupply chain manager 62.34%

BASED in Abingdon in Oxfordshire,Achilles identifies, assesses andmonitorssuppliers for big organisations worldwidethat are looking for high quality,ethically-sourced products. Buyers from650 companies, including BP, NationalGrid and Lilly, use Achilles’s systems toget information about the quality,financial, environmental, health andsafety and social responsibility aspectsof their key suppliers. Hg Capital backeda £75m primary buyout in June 2008,and profits have grown 62% a year from£2.8m in 2007 to £7.5m in 2009 underchief executive ColinMaund.

The Credit referenceagency CallcreditInformation Groupis poised for freshgrowth after being

spun out from Skipton buildingsociety last December in a dealbacked by Vitruvian Partners.The Leeds firm, at No2 in the

Buyout Track 100, providesfinancial-services companieswith a comprehensive range ofcredit checksand identityverifi-cation services. Its profits rose173% a year from £1.3m in 2006to £9.9m in 2008.With the injection of capital

from Vitruvian, supported bydebt funding from the acquisi-tion finance team at Lloyds TSBCorporateMarkets, chief execu-tive JohnMcAndrew is optimis-tic about the prospects forexpanding Callcredit’s range ofservices.LloydsBankingGroup’s com-

mitment to building long-termrelationships with outstandingcompanies lies at the heart ofits ability to offer them“through-the-cycle” support.In 2005, we became the firstleading bank to use Callcredit’sservices, and togetherwedevel-oped several innovative prod-ucts, including an indebted-ness service that can flag up

consumers who are taking ondebts they cannot afford.What is more, our deep

understanding of the private-equitymarket enablesus to sup-port investors like Vitruvian asthe economic recovery getsunder way. Over the past 12months, the combined resourc-es of Lloyds Banking Grouphave broadened and strength-ened our coverage of the sector.We provide debt to 23 firms

in this year’s league table. Theyinclude Lovefilm.com (No 3),which used the capital toacquire the online DVD rentalbusiness of Amazon for £63m;the highly acquisitive insur-ance broker Giles Insurance(No 13); and Icon PolymerGroup, the industrial rubbermaker (No 58).Our focus on understanding

our clients’ businesses andmar-kets gives us a clear picture ofthe risks and potential rewardsandallowsus to lendwithconfi-dence. Last year the acquisitionfinance teamat Lloyds TSBCor-porate Markets supplied morethan £500m of funding across25 deals, improving our marketshare at a time when the bank-ing industry has been grantingfewer loans.Last June we arranged debt

funding for Charterhouse Capi-tal Partners’ £550mtertiarybuy-out of Wood Mackenzie, theenergy, mining and metalsresearch and consultancygroupatNo69 in thisyear’s Buy-out Track 100.Our people devel-oped a strong bond with theEdinburgh business over fiveyears, providing debt for its sec-ondary buyout by Candover in

2005 and subsequent refinan-cings in 2006 and 2008.Lloyds TSB Corporate Mar-

kets is alsoworkinghard to sup-port sound, private-equity-backedbusinesses that are over-burdened with debt. Last yearwe launched our leveragedworkout group, led by IainPurves, and the group isalready helping some 150 com-panies to restructure their debt.A business review, conduct-

ed as part of the process, mightsuggest changing the manage-ment team and introducing arestructuring professional,whose role is to establish theviability of the business andhelp management create aturnaround plan. We mightalso inject capital or write off

debt in exchange for equity.Although the process could

potentially lead to tensionswith our private-equity part-ners, we avoid this by workingto understand each other’s pri-orities. We have already seensome notable achievements.For example,we acted quick-

lywhenPark Resorts, a caravanretailer and holiday site oper-ator that was in the BuyoutTrack 100 in 2007 and 2008, raninto difficulties at the start oflast year. It would have beeneasy to assume that the comp-any was, like so many others,languishing in the recession,but closer investigationrevealed operational problemsthat could be rectified swiftlyby a change of managementinitiated by the owners, GIPartners.Looking ahead, we are confi-

dent that we will double ourlending this year to support theincrease in mid-market dealactivity as stronger companiesareputup for sale atmore realis-tic valuations.Previous recessions have

taught us that investmentsmade at the bottom of themar-ket can deliver outstandingreturns. Grasping these oppor-tunities will require a strong,trusting relationship betweendebt providers, private-equityhouses and their portfolio com-panies, like those that appearin the Buyout Track 100. Welook forward to being part oftheir future success.n JonHerbert, head of the acquisi-tion finance team at Lloyds TSBCorporate Markets, was talking toCatherineWheatley.

4 BUYOUTTRACK100: Private equity backed firmswith the fastest growingprofits

Supplying the high-street chains with homewares: Simon Showman, chief executive of Ultimate Products

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30 INTEGRATED DENTALDental practice operator 61.00%

THIS group reckons it is Britain’s biggestdental practice consolidator, buying upthe businesses of retiring NHS dentistsat the rate of about 40 a year. IntegratedDental Holdings says it now looks afterthe teeth ofmore than 2m patients at 260practices nationwide, all run out of thefirm’s head office in Bolton. Merrill LynchGlobal led a tertiary buyout fromLGV Capital in February 2008, takingan 80% stake for a reported £300m. Underthe leadership of founder David Hudaly,profits have grown 61% a year froman annualised £12.3m in 2007 to anannualised £31.9m in 2009.

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31 OSS GROUPWaste oil recycler 59.49%

THISMerseyside company specialisesin the treatment of hazardous waste.It was created in 2000 when OSSacquired a rival, Greenway Holdings, ina £15m deal backed by Dunedin CapitalPartners. Led bymanaging director AndyMcNair, OSS Group collects and processeswaste oil to produce fuel such as NexGen,a green alternative to virgin fuel oil. Thecompany also collects old oil andhazardous waste and recycles solvents.Its profits have risen 59% a year from£2.4m in 2006 to £6.1m in 2008.

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32 LIFEWAYS COMMUNITY CARECommunity care provider 58.91%

FOUNDED in 1995 and operating fromoffices throughout Britain, LifewaysCommunity Care provides supportedliving services for people with complexsocial-care needs, including thosewhohave suffered a brain injury or haveautism. In July 2007, August Equitybacked a buyout for an undisclosed sumand installed Paul Marriner, who is aqualified nurse, as chief executive. In2009 he began a phase of growth throughacquisition by buying the Lancashirecompany Clover Care Group and theScottish firmHome Support Services.Profits have grown 59% a year from£2m in 2007 to £5m in 2009.

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33 INTL TUBULAR SERVICESOilfield services provider 57.44%

THIS Aberdeen companywas founded in1986 by Robert Kidd, now chairman andmajority shareholder, to provide drillingequipment and services to the global oiland gas industry. In 2009 the companyraised $55m by selling aminority stake toLime Rock Partners, a private-equity firm.Profits have grown 57% a year from £9.8min 2006 to £24.3m in 2008.

Recycling: OSS Group processes waste oil to produce fuels such as NexGen

Simon Calver of Lovefilm.com acquired the online DVD rental business of Amazon Under new management: a site run by Park Resorts

Recession or boom, the bank is there for you

PlantHirer 114.24%


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34 ENPUREEnvironmental engineer 55.97%

THIS Birmingham business designs,installs and commissions plants to treatwater andwaste. It recently won a £60mcontract to supply twomechanical andbiological treatment facilities inManchester, capable of processing 173,000tonnes of waste a year. The company isalso expanding internationally andopened an office in Dubai last year totarget theMiddle East. Enpure was partof AnglianWater until 2006, whenMalcolmWilkinson led a £19m buyout,backed by Spirit Capital. Profits have risen56% a year from £1.4m in 2007 to £3.5m in2009, due to growth in its overseas andsolid-wastemarkets.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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35 EVE TRAKWAYTemporary road provider 55.68%

THE growing popularity of largemusicfestivals has boosted the fortunes of thisChesterfield company. It suppliestemporary structures such as roadways,walkways and fences for industry andoutdoor events, including theGlastonbury Festival, the LondonMarathon and NottingHill Carnival.With the acquisition of Anglia TrafficManagement in 2009, it can now alsooffer traffic management services to roadmaintenance firms such as Tarmac andRingway. Undermanaging director RickBarnett, profits have grown 56% a yearfrom £2.1m in 2007 to £5.1m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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36 FROZEN VALUEFood retailer 54.62%

FROZENVALUE, which trades as JackFulton, has been a successful frozen-foodretailer formore than 40 years. Tradingfrom 86 shops throughout Yorkshire,Lancashire, Nottinghamshire andHumberside, the company offers acomprehensive range of premiumbranded frozen food. This issupplementedwith a range of brandeddry grocery and chilled products and arange of highly discounted productsbought in one-off parcels. Under the £11mbuy-inmanagement buyout team, backedby 3i and headed bymanaging directorKevin Gunter, profits have grown 55% ayear from £1.3m in 2007 to £3.1m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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37 HYDROBOLTBolt manufacturer 54.60%

HYDROBOLTmakes traceable,high-specification bolts and fasteners forthe punishing conditions found in the oil,gas, nuclear and defence industries. In2008,managing director Jamie Simpsonled a £14m primary buyout backed byOctopus Private Equity, of which thefounder took £8m. TheWolverhamptoncompany now has offices in Houston,Edmonton, Rio and Singapore, andinternational sales have been responsiblefor the rise in both sales and profits. Thelatter grew 55% a year from £1.4m in 2006to an annualised £3.3m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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38 MARKENLogistics provider 53.96%

MARKEN is a global logistics company,providing services exclusively to thebiopharmaceutical industry. It transportsbiological samples, vaccines and clinicaltrialmaterial around the world. InDecember, Apax Partners boughtIntermediate Capital Group’s majoritystake in the company, in the biggestBritish private-equity deal of 2009.Under chief executive Bruce Craig,Marken’s profits have grown 54% a year

from an annualised £19.5m in 2006 toan annualised £46.3m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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39 VSGSecurity provider 53.64%

THIS Northampton company providesmore than 5,000 security guards and storedetectives to clients including B&Q, DHL,Bank of America and Volkswagen. It alsoinstalls andmaintains electronic securitysystems such as CCTV and intruderalarmswith remotemonitoring. VSG saysit provides security staff and systems formore than 100 shopping centres aroundBritain. In 2007 LDC took a 40% stake foran undisclosed amount. The company’sprofits have grown 54% a year from £2.1min 2007 to £4.9m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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40 GO OUTDOORSOutdoor equipment retailer 52.62%

THIS retailer sells clothing andequipment for outdoor activities such asclimbing and skiing. Some stores haveoutdoor areas to display tents, and arecently opened outlet in Newcastlefeatures an indoor climbing wall.Go Outdoors plans to have 30 stores by2011, an expansion funded by the £18minjected by Bank of Scotland Corporate in2008. YFM, a Leeds private-equity firm,backed the original £1.5m buyout of theSheffield company inMay 1998. Profitshave risen 53% a year from £1.4m in 2007to £3.3m in 2009 under managing directorJohn Graham.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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41 WELDEXCrane hirer 51.86%

BASED in Inverness, this crane-hirecompany has 28 cranes working to buildthe Olympic stadium in London.Weldexwas established in 1979 by DougieMcGilvray and now claims to be Britain’slargest crawler-crane hire company. Thefirm offers 110 cranes and also providesoperators and service engineers. NVMPrivate Equity backed a £1.3m primarybuyout in 1996 but theMcGilvray familyretains amajority stake. Profits haverisen 52% a year from £5.5m in 2006 to£12.6m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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42 LONDON CITY AIRPORTAirport operator 51.04%

ELEVENAIRLINES fly to 32 Europeancities from London City Airport, andBritish Airways recently startedbusiness-only flights to New York. GlobalInfrastructure Partners, which also ownsGatwick, bought half the company in2006, increasing its shareholding to 100%in 2008. It has since sold 25% to HighstarCapital. The company is refurbishing theairport, improving aircraft parkingstands, departure lounges and security.Profits have grown 51% a year from£17.9m in 2006 to £40.9m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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43 EICBuilding services provider 50.91%

THISWestMidlands company providesmechanical and electrical buildingservices to household names such asTesco and Bupa. EIC’s recent wins includea £3.6m contract to fit out the City ofLondon Academy. MML bought out thefounding families in 2008 for £40m,although the company is still run by thefounders’ sons, Ian Lyall and Nigel LeMarechal. ChrisWoodwark, former chiefexecutive of Rolls-RoyceMotor Cars,joined as chairman after the buyout.Profits rose 51% a year from £3.1m in2006 to £7.1m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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44 INCHCAPE SHIPPINGMarine services provider 50.90%

INCHCAPE SHIPPING SERVICES tracesits roots back to themiddle of the19th century when two Scots started abusiness carrying troops andmail aroundIndia. Today it has offices in 63 countriesofferingmarine services such as piloting,docking, parts supply and cargo logisticsto 2,500 customers in the oil, cruise,container and commodity sectors.IstithmarWorld Capital, part of thetroubled investor DubaiWorld, backeda £166m secondary buyout in 2006 fromElectra Partners. Profits at Inchcapehave risen 51% a year from £13.2m in2006 to £30.1m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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45 MAYBORNBaby products maker 50.50%

THIS baby-productsmaker sells thepopular range of Tommee Tippee babybottles, feeding cups and comforters aswell as the Sangenic brand of nappydisposal products. Newcastle-basedMaybornwas delisted from theAlternative InvestmentMarket in 2006in a £137m deal backed by 3i. It divestednon-core divisions, such as arts andcrafts, to focus on baby products. Underthe leadership of chief executive NishKankiwala, profits have risen 51% a yearfrom an annualised £7.5m in 2006 to£16.9m in 2008, boosted by expansioninto the Far East andmainland Europe.This year the company has launchedthe Tommee Tippee brand in America.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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46 KELWAYIT services provider 50.11%

THIS London IT business sells hardwareand software and provides data-centreservices and technology trainingprogrammes. Core Venture Capital paid£5m for a 25% stake in December 2006,allowing founder Philip Doye tomake apartial exit. Growth has been driven bya number of acquisitions, including thee-commerce provider Elcom in 2007,which added £25m in turnover. Profitshave grown in line with turnover at 50% ayear from £1.9m in 2007 to £4.2m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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47 TANGERINE CONFECTIONERYConfectionery maker 49.80%

AFTER its acquisition of Cadbury’sMonkhill Confectionery in 2008 for £56m,Tangerine Confectionery reckons it isBritain’s largest sugar confectionerymaker. About half the Blackpoolcompany’s sales come frommakingproducts for the big supermarkets. Theother half comes from its own brands,including traditional favourites such asBarratt’s Sherbet Fountains andButterkist popcorn. Chairman StevenJoseph andmanaging director ChrisMarshall led the buy-inmanagementbuyout from Toms Gruppen in January2006, backed by Close Growth Capital,which invested an undisclosed sum.Profits have increased 50% a year from£3.5m in 2006 to £7.9m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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48 TENSATOR GROUPQueue control specialist 49.79%

THISMilton Keynes company claims itinvented the retractable barriers used tocontrol queues in airports. Tensator’srange of products also includes theelectronic call-forward systems used insupermarkets and banks. The companysays that these systems reduce“throw down”, which occurs when acustomer gives up on a purchase becausethe queue is too long. The RiversideCompany backed a primary buyout foran undisclosed amount from founderJeremyWilliman in 2008. Profits havegrown 50% a year from an annualised£2.1m in 2006 to £4.8m in 2008, boostedby the success of the group’s in-queueimpulse-purchase displays and by thesourcing of cheaper parts fromAsia.


Expanding all over the world: Robert Hardy, chief executive of Aesica

PlantHirer 114.24%


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49 WIGGLEOnline sports goods retailer 49.53%

THE online sports retailerWiggle.co.ukwas launched in 1999 with £2,000 by cycleenthusiastsMitch Dall and Harvey Jonesfrom their bike shop in Portsmouth. Itsays it is now Britain’s top online bikeretailer, selling 15,000 cycling productsand a range of running, swimming andtriathlon gear tomore than 70 countries.In 2006 Isis Equity Partners paid £12.2mfor a 42% stake and last year co-founderMitch Dall sold his 26% stake back to thecompany. Profits have risen 50% a yearfrom £2m in 2007 to £4.5m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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50 AESICA PHARMACEUTICALSPharmaceuticals maker 49.46%

THIS company has quadrupled in sizesince it was spun out of the chemicalsgiant BASF in 2004. Aesica boughtmanufacturing sites fromMerck in 2006and Abbott in 2007 and now runs threeplants in Britain, supplying compoundsto biotechnology and pharmaceuticalclients worldwide. Headquartered inNewcastle, the company launched anAmerican subsidiary in 2008 to drive itsinternational expansion. Aesica is led bychief executive Robert Hardy and backedby LDC, which invested an undisclosedsum in 2004. Its profits have grown 49% ayear from £4.4m in 2006 to £9.8m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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51 TINOPOLISFilm and television producer 48.69%

TINOPOLIS produces about 2,500 hoursof drama, documentary, sports andchildren’s TV programmes each year for200 broadcasters worldwide. TheWelshcompanymakes the BBC’s Question Timeand Traffic Cops, Channel 4’s Dispatches,and Five’s Sport on Five. Tinopolis alsoproduces trainingmaterials for clientsincluding Scottish Enterprise and theMinistry of Defence. Vitruvian Partnersbacked a £45m public-to-private buyoutin 2008. Profits have grown 49% a yearfrom £2.9m in 2006 to £6.5m in 2008undermanaging director Arwel Rees.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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52 LOEWY GROUPMarketing provider 48.24%

THIS London group comprises eightbranding and design companies, eachtrading under its own name but sharingpremises and personnel. Customersinclude Absolut Vodka,WH Smith andMikimoto, the Japanese jewellerydesigner. The American private-equityhouses Veronis Suhler Stevenson andABRY Partners invested £16m inSeptember 2007 for a combined stake of24%, allowing Loewy Group to grow byacquisition. Profits have risen at a rateof 48% a year from £2.1m in 2006 to£4.6m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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53 QHOTELSHotel operator 46.45%

THIS company buys underperforminghotels and equips themwith qualityleisure and business facilities to appealto its target conferencemarket. In 2006it bought 12Marston hotels for £180m,doubling its turnover. QHotels nowoperates 21 hotels across Britain, withmore than 2,900 rooms and 250meetingand conference rooms. The business wasfounded in 2003 bymanaging directorMichael Purtill, with £50m of backingfromAlchemy Partners, which still hasamajority stake in the company.Management owns the rest. Profits atQHotels rose 46% a year from £17.4m in2006 to £37.4m in 2008.

Taking off: profits have been growing51% a year at London City Airport

Michael Bishop ofUBS explains whyowners need to planexit strategies at allstages of the cycle

Just over a decadeafter launching thepreppy fashionretail-er Jack Wills, thirty-something entrepre-

neur Peter Williams has creat-ed a substantial fortune.Williams and his business

partnerRobert Shaw,who start-ed the venture in Salcombe,Devon, with £40,000 of savingsand an array of credit cards,now oversee 35 outlets selling arange of classic casual clothesinspired by British sportingand military traditions. Profitsat the company, No 22 in theBuyout Track 100, have grown73%a year from£2.6m in 2007 to£7.7m in 2009.In 2007Williams took advan-

tage of a buoyant market to sella minority stake to InflexionPrivate Equity and realise someof the wealth locked up in thebusiness. Peter Saunders, aformer Body Shop boss, wasbrought in as chairman and thecompany recently launchedthe Aubin &Wills label, target-ing older customers. It is nowconsidering expansion intoAmerica and Asia.Entrepreneurs like Williams

put years of hard work into

building their businesses andthey should think just as care-fully about managing thewealth they have created. Part-ingwith equity canbe challeng-ing emotionally, but foundersare well-advised to considerspreading their risks in thisway when the right oppor-tunity arises.As the Buyout Track 100

researchshows,manyentrepre-neurs in this year’s league tablehave done exactly that.Har ry Brünjes , who

launched his business in the1990s to provide medical opin-ions for legal and insuranceprofessionals, took cash out in amanagement buyout in 2008.After his company mergedwith rival firm Medico-LegalReporting to formPremierMed-ical Group (No25 in the leaguetable), Nomura Private Equityacquired amajority stake in theenlarged firm, leaving Brünjesas chairmanwith an 18% stake.Taking money out of a com-

pany in stages is often sensiblefor both the business and itsfounders. The business benefitsfrom fresh funds at eachgrowth phase, while owner-managers avoid being forced to

sell their equity in a single dealat a low point in the cycle. Buteven partial exits create risk.When entrepreneurs sell a sliceof their business they bringnew shareholders into theboardroom. They also give up aportion of future growth.We understand that busi-

ness owners want to devotetheir time to running theircompanies. For this reason, in

today’s complex and fast-moving markets, UBS WealthManagement provides a rangeof services for individuals asprivate clients and as businessowners.Like the growth companies

in this year’s Buyout Track 100,we place great emphasis ondeveloping investment strate-gies that are both resilient andadaptable in turbulent times.

Typically, we agree a long-termplan for eachclient that is sensi-tive to shifts in the economiccycle. We identify individualpriorities such as tolerance torisk, accessibility, growthexpectations, income require-ments, time horizons and taxstatus. Based on these discus-sions we develop an invest-ment strategy with the clientand “stress test” it against

benchmark data. We thenbuild in an element of adapta-bility to reflect opportunitiesand movements in the market.This could include a particularviewon foreign exchange, com-modities or interest rates witha view to taking shorter-termprofits.UBS Wealth Management

has a Corporate AdvisoryGroup, which offers the skills,

knowledge and contacts of aninvestment bank delivered bya team that understands theneeds of entrepreneurs, theirfamilies and private-equity-backed companies. The groupoffers mergers and acquisitionadvice. It works with businessowners to achieve a sale or par-tial exit, advise on acquisitionsor raise capital to develop thebusiness further.

In the past few weeks therehas been a rise in activityacross the private-equity sec-tor. KKR has snapped up theretailer Pets atHome for a hefty£955m after a fiercely foughtauction. Merlin Entertain-ments Group, owner of theLondon Eye and Madame Tus-sauds, and Promethean, whichmakes interactive whiteboardsfor schools, are reported to beconsidering flotations.As 2010 unfolds, founders,

managers and their private-equity backerswill beweighingup the opportunities. ManyBuyout Track 100 entrepre-neurs will already have theirplans in place — for whateverthe future holds.nMichael Bishop, head of privatewealth management at UBSWealth Management in Londonwas talking to CatherineWheatley.

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54 OLAERHydraulic equipment maker 46.37%

OLAER provides hydraulic equipmentto a wide range of customers from theoil and gas sector to the film industry.The company has been growing byacquisition, forming a geographicallydiverse group, which operates inmorethan 40 countries. Gresham PrivateEquity backed the primary buyout ofOlaer Group from its parent companyExpamet International in September 2005for an undisclosed sum. UndermanagingdirectorMichael Blenkinsop, profits havegrown 46% a year from £4.7m in 2006 to£10m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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55 GROUP GTIRecruitment publisher 45.88%

THIS graduate recruitment publisherproduces a range of titles andwebsitestargeting students who are searching fortheir first job. Companies from banks toengineering firmswishing to enrol topgraduates advertise in one of 70 titles,including Target Jobs in Britain orStaufenbiel in Germany, or take a standat one of GTI’s graduate events. Thecompanywas founded by AdrianWoodandMark Blythe in 1988, and ExponentPrivate Equity took a 60% stake in 2006 foran undisclosed sum. In 2008 GTI boughtthe DailyMail’s graduate recruitmentdivision, Hobsons, for £26m. Profits havegrown 46% a year from £3.7m in 2007 to£7.8m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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56 OPTILANTelecom systems integrator 45.85%

OPTILAN designs and installs fibre-optictelecommunication and security systems.Oil and gas is the Coventry company’sbiggest sector and has driven its recentexpansion into Russia, Azerbaijan andIndia. In 2008 co-founder and chiefexecutive Richard Buckland led a primarybuyout backed by Northern VentureManagers, which took a 41% stake for£5m. The rising price of oil and gas hashelped to push up profits, which havegrown 46% a year from £1.7m in 2006 toan annualised £3.7m in 2008.

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57 BRIDGMAN GROUPFine enforcement provider 44.44%

THIS London company collects fines onbehalf of government departments, suchas the Child Support Agency, magistratescourts and local councils. As part of amanagement-led turnaround, thecompany commissioned an ethical auditto ensure best practice for all staff, fromboard level to collection officers. Itsubsequently acquired JohnMarston &Co, a writ enforcer, and rebranded itsmain trading subsidiary asMarstonGroup. Profits have risen 44% a yearfrom £1.9m in 2007 to £3.9m in 2009,driven largely by acquisitions.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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58 ICON POLYMER GROUPRubber products maker 44.08%

ICONmakes rubber items for customersin the aerospace, defence, transport andenergy industries, including BAE andJCB. Its products range from inflightrefuelling hoses formilitary planes torubber seals for connecting traincarriages. Since its inception in 1999 theNottinghamshire company has pursued abuy and build strategy, which includedthe £10m purchase of Silvertown, a rival,in 2004. LDC backed the 2009management buyout from founderRichard Gogerty. Profits have grown 44%a year from £1.5m in 2006 to £3m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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60 ENERGY CRANESOffshore services provider 43.54%

ENERGY CRANES, which trades asSparrows, provides lifting and handlingservices for oil and gasmultinationalssuch as BP. Close Brothers backed a £142mtertiary buyout from LMS Capital in 2008and the Aberdeen company used the cashto continue a string of acquisitions thathas trebled the size of the company inseven years. Subsidiaries in Norway,Holland and Singapore have helped toboost profits 44% a year from £9.1m in2006 to an annualised £18.7m in 2008under chief executive Doug Sedge.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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61 KELLEN GROUPNatural gas supplier 43.11%

KELLENGROUP is Northern Ireland’slargest natural-gas company. It tradesas the Phoenix Natural Gas Group anddistributes both its own and othersuppliers’ gas to about half the populationof Northern Ireland. Phoenix is alsoresponsible for the development of the3,000kmpipeline system in Belfast.In 2004 Terra Firma bought the utilitycompany East Surrey Holdings fromBritish Gas for an undisclosed sum,subsequently divesting all its divisionsexcept Kellen Group, which it ownsoutright. Profits at the company haveswelled 43% a year from £14.6m in 2006to £29.9m in 2008.

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63 RIXONWAYKitchen manufacturer 42.80%

THIS kitchenmanufacturer worksexclusively for the affordable housingsector. Based inWest Yorkshire,Rixonway supplies more than 12,000kitchen units a week for clients includinglocal authorities and social landlords.The companywas founded in 1979 andin 2006 August Equity Partners backeda buyout led by Paul Rose, who alsointroduced innovations such as aninteractivewebsite onwhich customerscan review kitchen designs, monitor eachstep of production and confirm deliverytimings. Profits have grown 43% a yearfrom an annualised £1.8m in 2007 to£3.8m in 2009,

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64 RP MARTINWholesale money broker 42.77%

THIS Londonwholesale broker bringstogether buyers and sellers of bonds,currencies and financial derivatives. Italso provides a confidential service so thatcustomers can discuss price-sensitiveinformation, such as trading limits andtrade sizes. Gresham Private Equitybacked a £27m public-to-private buyoutof the company in April 2005, taking a43% stake. Since then chief executiveDavid Caplin has overseen a profit rise of43% a year from £7.5m in 2007 to £15.3min 2009.

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65 INTERCONTINENTAL BRANDSBeverage manufacturer 42.10%

THIS company distributesmore than50 alcohol brands, including VodkatSchnapps, St Helier fruit ciders andThe Italian Jobwine. Its customersinclude all of Britain’s leadingsupermarkets as well as specialistoff-licences and independent retailers.InterContinental was established in 1990by Paul Burton and John Hibberd,initially as a distributor, but theHarrogate firm nowmakes its ownbrands aimed at young adults, such asZamaretto, its multicoloured liqueurrange. In 2007 LDC took a 32% stake in thebusiness and profits have risen 42% a yearfrom £2.4m in 2006 to £4.8m in 2008.

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66 NFAFoster care agency 41.65%

THISWest London company says it isnow the second-largest independentfostering agency in Britain. Founded in1995 and led by chief executive IainAnderson, the business is backed bySovereign Capital Partners, whichinvested an undisclosed sum in 2006. In2009 the group acquired three regionalfostering agencies, expanding itsgeographical reach. It now has a networkof 13 offices and arranges foster care formore than 1,600 children. Profits haveclimbed 42% a year from £3.9m in 2007to £7.9m in 2009.

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67 CASTLEBECKHealthcare provider 40.72%

THIS Darlington companywas foundedin 1987 to provide care to adults orchildrenwith learning disabilities andchallenging behaviour. Nineteen yearslater, Lydian Capital Partners, theprivate-equity firm backed by Irishtycoons JPMcManus, JohnMagnier andDermot Desmond, led a £255m tertiarybuyout. Under chief executive JonMann,Castlebeck hasmoved into new services,including foster placement and autismcare, and nowhas 27 independenthospitals and residential homes acrossBritain.With the acquisition ofMentalHealth Care (UK) in 2007, and investmentin staff and services, Castlebeck’s profitsgrew 41% a year from £13.5m in 2006 to£26.7m in 2008.

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68 ALEXANDER MANNRecruiter 40.17%

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Rosaleen Blair saysshe helped to pioneer recruitmentoutsourcingwhen she founded thiscompany in 1996. Today its clients,including Vodafone, Zurich, Siemens,Barclays and Freshfields, turn toAlexanderMann Solutions to find staffat every level. The company employsmore than 900 people and operates in 60countries across Europe, theMiddle East,Africa and Asia Pacific as well as America.In 2007, Graphite Capital backed a £100msecondary buyout fromAdvent. Profitsrose 40% a year from £5.2m in 2006 to anannualised £10.1m 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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69 WOOD MACKENZIEResearch consultancy 38.81%

SOME of the world’s biggest energy,metals andmining companies come toWoodMackenzie formarket research,strategic analysis and commercial advice.The Edinburgh companywas known forits energy research but diversified intometals andmining with the acquisitionof coalmining experts Hill & Associatesand Barlow Jonker in 2007, and the

metalsmining consultancy Brook Huntin 2008. In June 2009 Charterhousebacked a £553m tertiary buyout fromCandover, taking a 67% stake. Profits havegrown 39% a year from £20.1m in 2006 to£38.7m in 2008 under the leadership ofchief executive StephenHalliday.

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70 PRECISE MEDIA GROUPMedia intelligence provider 38.22%

THIS Londonmedia-monitoring agencysays it searches 200,000 stories every dayfrom national newspapers and televisionto blogs and Facebook. PreciseMedia thendelivers the information in a number offormats to its 5,000 clients to help themtrack and analyse how their organisationor products are being portrayed. Led bychief executive Peter Low, the companyclaims to workwithmost of the FTSE 100companies. Phoenix Equity Partnersbacked a £42m secondary buyout from 3iin 2006, and profits have grown 38% ayear from £3.9m in 2006 to £7.5m in 2008.

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71 QABusiness training provider 38.19%

BUILT up through a series of acquisitionsover two decades, QA is one of Britain’sleading providers of IT and professionalskills training.Withmore than 200instructors, the company offers 1,500courses and trainsmore than 200,000people a year in 38 locations aroundBritain. In 2007 Englefield Capitalacquired amajority stake in the companyfor an undisclosed sum, subsequentlyfunding the acquisition of competitorsXpertise Group for £10.6m in 2008 andRemarc in 2009. Under chief executiveWilliamMacpherson, profits have risen38% a year from £3.6m in 2007 to £6.9min 2009.

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72 MICROLEASEElectronic device provider 37.63%

THISHarrow company is on theacquisition trail after securing a line ofcredit from Lombard Business Financeand Royal Bank of Scotland. In September2009 the company bought the Europeanarm of Telogy, an American rival.Microlease’s services include rentaland sale of testing andmeasurementequipment, and it operates across Europe,Africa, theMiddle East and the Americas.LDC backed a £30m buyout in 2006, led bychief executive Nigel Brown, and injecteda further £8m in August 2009. Profitshave risen 38% a year from an annualised£5.6m in 2007 to £10.6m in 2009.

OWNERS CANAVOID BEINGFORCED TOSELL THEIREQUITY AT ALOW POINT INTHE CYCLE

6 BUYOUTTRACK100: Private equity backed firmswith the fastest growingprofits

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59 MINIVATORStairlift manufacturer 43.83%

MINIVATOR reckons it is the world’ssecond-largestmanufacturer of stairliftsfor the elderly and disabled. TheWestMidlands company alsomakes bespokebath-lifts. Minivator has an agreementwithHelp the Aged, which enables it touse the charity’s branding on its products.In return, the company donates part ofthe proceeds to the charity. Greshambacked a primary buyout of Minivatorin August 2004 and has reportedly justagreed a sale to Norwegian competitorHandicare. Under chief executiveMikeLord, profits have risen 44% a year from£1.9m in 2006 to £4m in 2008.

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62 STEWART GROUPTesting services 42.84%

AT facilities in Europe, Africa, Russia andMongolia this firm can test mineral andore samples formining companies suchas Anglo American. It can also inspectand analyse importedminerals, preciousmetals, coal and iron ore for traders andbuyers. In 2006managing directorJohn Notman-Watt led a buyout of theStewart Group from founder Alex Stewart,backed by CBPE Capital, which took a42% stake in the company. Since then thecompany, based at Prescot onMerseyside,has grown through acquisition. Profitsrose 43% a year from £2.4m in 2006 to£4.9m in 2008.

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73 COFFEE NATIONCoffee machine operator 37.27%

THIS company reckons it is Britain’sthird-largest coffee seller — onlyStarbucks and Costa Coffee sell more. Itoperates 800 self-servicemachines selling“gourmet coffee-to-go” atmotorwayservice stations, petrol forecourts andconvenience stores. Coffee Nation’scustomers includeWelcome Break,Somerfield, Esso andMoto. TheHighWycombe company, led by chiefexecutive Scott Martin and financedirector Simon Vardigans, is looking toexpand into airports, universities andoffices. Milestone Capital Partners backeda £25m secondary buyout from PrimaryCapital inMarch 2008 and profits havegrown 37% a year from £1.6m in 2007 to£3m in 2009.

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74 FDM GROUPIT services provider 37.04%

FDMprovides IT services to customerssuch as the AA, BSkyB and Citigroup tosee them through technical challengessuch as commissioning a newwebsite,upgrading a database, or testing newsystems. After fivemonths of takeovertalks, the Inflexion-backedmanagementteam, led by chief executive Rod Flavell,agreed to take the Brighton companyprivate in December 2009, for anundisclosed sum. Profits grew 37% a yearfrom £2.8m in 2006 to £5.3m in 2008.

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75 STONE COMPUTERSComputer manufacturer 37.02%

MORE than half of Stone Computers’turnover comes from providing computersystems to schools. Other customersinclude local authorities, police andhealth services. The Staffordshire firmsupplies and configures hardware andsoftware, and installs and debugs thesystems. It offers a helpdesk and engin-eers on site next day if there is a problem.Government spending on computers inschools has helped to boost profits, whichhave risen 37% a year from £2.3m in 2006to an annualised £4.3m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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76 KETTLE FOODSCrisp manufacturer 35.86%

BETTING on the British appetite forcrisps, CameronHealy, founder of KettleFoods in America, brought the posh snackbrand Kettle Chips to England in 1988,setting up in Norfolk close to its potatosupply. Kettle says it is now one of thebiggest snack brands in Britain. In 2006Lion Capital bought both the Americanand the British company for £170m. Itruns the companies separately, and isreportedly looking to sell both. Profitshave grown 36% a year from £6.9min 2006 to £12.7m in 2008 under chiefexecutive Jeremy Bradley.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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77 ST TROPEZSelf-tanning supplier 35.67%

A PICTURE of Victoria Beckham totingher St Tropez self-tan helped to catapultthis company’s product on to beautymagazinemust-have lists. Judy Naakéstarted distributing the American self-tanbrand in Britain in 1995 and sales took offon the back of celebrity endorsementsand rising awareness of skin cancer. LDCbought out Naaké and her partner in2006, buying the American company atthe same time. The Nottingham firm nowsells a range of skin products under theSt Tropez brand. Profits have risen 36% ayear from £2.6m in 2007 to £4.7m in 2009,under chief executiveMichelle Feeney.

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‘‘

Wales3

East3

Southeast19

Scotland6

Northeast14

Southwest0

Northwest9

Northern Ireland2

Midlands16

London28

Headquarters location of Buyout Track 100 companies

The Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100THIS supplement is compiled by FastTrack, the Oxford networking, eventsand research company that ranksBritain’s top-performing private firms.Fast Track publishes six annual leaguetableswith associated dinners thatprovide a network for their owners anddirectors tomeet. It is run by Dr HamishStevenson, who has an associate fellow-

ship at Green Templeton College, OxfordUniversity. The Buyout Track researchwasmanaged byHelenMcNicoll.Fast Track’s sole source of revenue is

fromsponsors. Wewould therefore liketo thankDeloitte for its title sponsorship,and Lloyds TSBCorporateMarkets andUBSWealthManagement.Nominations for next year’s Buyout

Track 100 can bemade through ourwebsitewww.fasttrack.co.uk or can besent to Fast Track at:

Angel Court, 81 St ClementsOxford OX4 1AW

Phone: 01865 297100Fax: 01865 297001Email: [email protected]

PlantHirer 114.24%


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87 DUNLOP AIRCRAFT TYRESAircraft tyre maker 32.89%

THIS companymakes 80,000 tyres a yearfor commercial andmilitary aircraftranging from the Boeing 747 to theEurofighter Typhoon and Embraer andBombardier regional jets. Its customersinclude British Airways, Thomas Cookand Lufthansa, as well as aircraftconstructors andwheel and brakemanufacturers. The Birmingham firmretreads a further 25,000 tyres a year andopened a new retread facility in China inNovember 2009. In 2007, AAC Capitalbacked a £40m secondary buyout led bychairman Ian Edmondson. Profits haveincreased 33% a year from £3.2m in 2006to £5.6m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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88 EPYXE-trading developer 32.73%

THIS Coventry company, which developse-commerce applications for themotorindustry, was founded nine years agowith £365,000 of funding from privateinvestors. In June 2009, Hg Capitalacquired a 49% stake for £42m. Epyx’s1link technology enables fleet managersto buy, maintain, sell and hire cars, orrenew licences electronically. Customersrange from largemanufacturers, such asVolkswagen and Ford, to small

franchised car dealers. Undermanagingdirector Greg Connell, Epyx’s profitshave risen 33% a year from £3.7m in 2006to £6.6m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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89 LEASEDRIVE VELOVehicle management 32.46%

THEWokingham company LeasedriveVelo provides vehicle rental and fleetmanagement services to blue-chipclients. In September 2008, LDC backeda secondary buyout from Lyceum Capitalfor an undisclosed sum. One year earlier,Leasedrive had acquired Velo, almostdoubling in size. Under the leadership ofDavid Bird, Roddy Graham and RogerPartridge, profits have grown 32% a yearfrom £8.1m in 2006 to £14.2m in 2008.


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78 LOWELL GROUPLoan recovery agency 34.46%

LOWELL GROUP buys delinquentconsumer debt from banks, credit-cardissuers and telecoms providers, and thentries to recover it. The Leeds firm focusesprimarily on debts of about £1,000.Exponent backed a secondary buyoutfrom Cabot Square Capital in 2008 fora reported £200m. As part of the deal,Lowell arranged a £100m line of credit,secured until 2011, which has allowed itto continue buying debt during a timewhen getting hold of new capital hasbeen a challenge for the company’scompetitors. This has helped profits togrow 34% a year from £13.4m in 2007to £24.2m in 2009, under chief executiveJames Cornell.

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79 JDR ENTERPRISESCable manufacturer 34.10%

THIS Cambridgeshire cablemakerwas recently awarded a contract tosupply cables for theWave Hubrenewable-energy project off the Cornishcoast. JDR Cable Systemsmakesmarinecables for the oil, gas, defence andrenewable-energy sectors. Vision Capitalbacked a £90m secondary buyout fromBridgepoint in 2007 and, driven byinvestment in newmanufacturingfacilities, profits have subsequentlygrown 34% a year from £5.5m in 2007 to£9.9m in 2009 under the leadership ofchief executive Pat Herbert.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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80 RED COMMERCESAP recruitment agency 34.07%

THE London recruiter Red Commercesupplies SAP professionals to blue-chipbusinesses inmore than 40 countries.It claims to have a database of 147,000SAP experts across the globe, ready to bedeployed as projectmanagers, trainers,consultants and system integrators forcustomers such as Nestlé and IBM. InDecember 2005 Inflexion Private Equitybacked a £15mmanagement buyout fromthe founders. Under new chief executiveRichard Vercesi, profits have grown 34% ayear from £2.2m in 2007 to £3.9m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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81 TSL EDUCATIONEducational publisher 33.90%

IF a school needs a new headteacher,it usually advertises in the TimesEducational Supplement, one of twospecialist titles owned by TSL Education.The London firm, once part of The Times,publishes newspapers andmagazines,and runswebsites and exhibitions foreducation professionals. In 2007Charterhouse Capital Partners backed asecondary buyout from Exponent PrivateEquity and themanagement, whichretains a 27% stake. Profits have risen34% a year from an annualised £20.5min 2006 to £36.7m in 2008.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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82 DREAMSBed retailer 33.22%

DESPITE the recession, Dreams, abed retailer based in HighWycombe,Buckinghamshire, continues to roll outits programme of 30 store openings ayear. The company has a huge range ofbeds andmattresses in 235 superstoresnationwide. Exponent backed a primarybuyout of the business from its foundersMike and Carol Clare in 2008 for £227m.Economies of scale have helped toplump up Dreams’ profits 33% a yearfrom £10.7m in 2006 to £19m in 2008,under the leadership of chief executiveNickWorthington.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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90 ETC.VENUESTraining venue provider 32.37%

THIS company has six venues acrossLondon and one in Birmingham that ithires out for training courses, events,conferences and executivemeetings.Etc.venues says its buildings havemoreflair thanmost training facilities,featuringmodern furnishings in brightcontemporary colours and showcasingmodern art. The locations are all neartransport links and serve fresh food

cooked on the premises. Dunedin CapitalPartners backed the £21m buy-inmanagement buyout in 2006 and profitshave grown 32% a year from £2.3m in 2007to £3.9m in 2009 under the leadership ofmanaging director Alastair Stewart.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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91 COMTECTravel software developer 32.11%

IN 1995 Simon Powell, the founder andchief executive of this company, wasasked by his father to look at ways ofusing IT to improve the family travelbusiness. The result was EasySell,software for travel agents. Today theSouthWales company provides softwareto businesses from the industry giantThomas Cook to local independentoperators. To improvemargins, Comtechas expanded its product range to includeready-to-usewebsites and systems formanaging bookings. RJD Partners backeda buyout in 2008 for an undisclosed sum.Profits have grown 32% a year from £2.4min 2006 to £4.1m in 2008.

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92 POUNDLANDDiscount retailer 31.04%

SHOPPERS from all socioeconomic classescome to Poundland to buy anything fromstationery to nappies andwashing-upliquid. Every one ofmore than 3,000items sold in its 250 shops costs £1. Thecompanywas founded by Dave Dodd andStephen Smith in 1990 and AdventInternational took amajority stake in2002 for £49m. Under chief executive JimMcCarthy, profits have risen 31% a yearfrom £11.7m in 2007 to £20m in 2009.

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93 OFFICEShoe retailer 30.85%

THIS London footwear retailer sellsquirky fashion shoes and boots athigh-street prices. Sports brands,particularly Converse, account for a thirdof sales. Office has 64 shops throughoutBritain plus 25 concessions in House ofFraser and Topshop. In 2003West CoastCapital paid £15m for the business,buying out the founding Casey family.Under chief executive BrianMcCluskey,profits have climbed 31% a year from£6.1m in 2007 to £10.5m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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94 IRIS SOFTWARESoftware developer 30.83%

THIS software house was created in 2007when Iris and Computer Software Groupmerged in a £500m deal, backed byHellman & Friedman. The Berkshirecompany supplies businessmanagementsoftware tomore than 60,000 corporateclients. In the past year, Iris Software hasspent £10m developing products and£13m buying six companies, includingFormation, which provides software forbarristers. Under chief executiveMartinLeuw, profits have grown 31% a year from£24m in 2007 to £41.1m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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95 SURVITEC GROUPSafety equipment maker 30.76%

SURVITEC provides safety and survivalequipment to themarine, defence andaviation sectors. The Belfast firmmakesproducts such as liferafts and submarineescape suits. In 2004,Montagu PrivateEquity backed a £146m buyout of SurvitecfromAir-Sea Survival Equipment.Warburg Pincus, the Americanprivate-equity house, backed asecondary buyout in January 2010 for£280m. Profits grew 31% a year from£16.2m in 2007 to £27.7m in 2009.

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83 QUOTIENT BIORESEARCHLaboratory testing provider 33.18%

THIS FIRM undertakes contract researchfor pharmaceutical companies such asAstra Zeneca. Paul Cowan founded theCambridgeshire firm in 2007, with thebacking of property investors Helical Barand Dencora. In September 2008 theAmerican private-equity houseTA Associates paid £35m for a 35% stake.Quotient Bioresearch has been growingby acquiring smaller businesses and nowhas four divisions, including a sportscience division that runs anti-dopingtests for horse racing. Profits have grownat a rate of 33% a year from £3.2m in 2007to £5.7m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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84 TEACHING PERSONNELSupply teacher recruiter 33.10%

TEACHING PERSONNEL suppliestemporary staff to schools throughoutEngland andWales. The business wasfounded in 1996, initially to providesupply teachers to inner-city schoolsfrom its national call centre. TheHertfordshire firm now has 30 regionalbranches and has added long-term andspecial-needs teachers. In 2007RJD Partners backed a £24m secondarybuyout from Barclays Private Equity.Profits have grown 33% a year from £2.6min 2006 to £4.6m in 2008 undermanagingdirectorMarkWeavis and, subsequently,John Bowman.

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85 OVALInsurance broker 32.92%

SINCE theWakefield insurance brokerOval was founded in 2003, it has pursuedan aggressive buy-and-build strategy,making 32 acquisitions. About 80% of itsturnover comes from insurance brokingfor corporate clients. The rest comes fromproviding financial services. CaledoniaInvestments paid £15m for a 36% stakein Oval in 2003 and in October 2008 thecompany secured a further £115m inequity and senior debt from a consortiumled by Caledonia. Profits have grownby 33% a year from £11.2m in 2007 to£19.8m in 2009 under chief executivePhillip Hodson.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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86 2E2IT services provider 32.90%

FROMupgrading Pret AManger’sback-office systems to installing newinfrastructure support systems for theMinistry of Defence, 2e2 provides ITconsultancy, integration and supportservices for a wide range of clients.Operating across Britain, Belgium andthe Netherlands, the Newbury companyhas acquired 15 subsidiaries since 2002and formed new divisions out of them.In 2006, founders Terry Burt andMarkMcVeigh led the business through a£130m secondary buyout fromGreshambacked by Duke Street Capital. Profitshave increased 33% a year from £13.3min 2006 to £23.5m in 2008.

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96 NATIONAL ACCIDENTLegal marketing agency 30.33%

NATIONAL ACCIDENT HELPLINEprovides personal injury leads to 90 firmsof solicitors around Britain. Although theNorthamptonshire company says therecession hasmade some potentialclaimants cautious about taking legalaction against their employers, it hasmanaged to improve its profit per enquiryand its conversion rate. LDC backed arestructuring of the firm in June 2009,providing a partial exit for retiring direc-tors, subsequently selling half its stake toInflexion Private Equity. Former chiefoperating officer Samantha Porteous tookover as chief executive in 2009. Profitsincreased 30% a year, from an annualised£4.3m in 2006 to £7.2m in 2008.

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97 1ST CREDITDebt collection agency 29.89%

1ST CREDIT claims to be one of Britain’slargest debt-collection agencies,managingmore than 4m consumeraccounts, with a face value of about£5 billion. It was founded in 2001 andcollects debts on behalf of banks,credit-card companies and utilities.Bridgepoint backed a £72m secondarybuyout fromGresham Private Equity inNovember 2004. Under chief executiveNajib Nathoo, profits rose 30% a yearfrom £18.8m in 2006 to £31.7m in 2008.

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98 AFI-UPLIFTBuilding equipment supplier 29.33%

AFI-UPLIFT rents and sells access plat-forms from 18 locations to construction,shopfitting andmaintenance firms,enabling people to work safely at height.In 2006, Barclays Private Equity paid£15m for a 40% stake in AFI AerialPlatforms, in a buyout led by chairmanDavid Shipman. Later the companymergedwith Uplift Power Platformsbefore acquiring two competitors.Profits have increased 29% a yearfrom £8.3m in 2006 to £13.9m in 2008,allowing the company to reduce its debt.

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99 ATTENDAInternet services provider 29.22%

COMPANIES looking to cut overheads andreduce computer hardware costs turn tofirms like Attenda to take over their ITrequirements. TheWest Londoncompany hosts critical applications suchas sales databases, messaging servicesand e-commerce websites fororganisations from the airline BMI to theNHS. A consortium led byM/C VenturePartners and Phoenix Equity Partnersbacked a secondary buyout in 2002,investing £9m for amajority stake.Profits have risen 29% a year from£2m in 2006 to £3.4m in 2008, underchief executiveMark Fowle.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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100 YO SUSHIRestaurant operator 28.51%

YO SUSHI’s fast-food formula of sushi,noodles and tempura delivered byconveyor belt has appealed to dinersaround the world. The company runs 59restaurants in six countries — 44 of theseare in the UK— and has 15 franchises inIreland, Russia, Malaysia, Dubai andBahrain. Chief executive Robin Rowlandis aiming for 100 restaurants worldwideby 2012. He led a £51m secondary buyout,backed by Quilvest in 2008. Boosted bythis international expansion, theLondon company’s profits grew 29% ayear from £3m in 2006 to an annualised£4.9m in 2008.

Going up: AFI-Uplift has cashed in on new safety regulations in building

CompanyActivity

Headquarterslocation

Financialyear end

Annual profitgrowth

Latest profits£000

Base profits£000

Latest sales£000 Staff Shareholders Comment

1 Merlin Entertainments GroupVisitor attraction operator

Poole Dec 08 97.54% 203,000 52,021 662,300 9,778 Consortium of Blackstone, Kirkbi Invest,Dubai International Capital, Caddis Assets(majority), management (minority)

When it acquired the Tussauds Group for £1billion in 2007, Merlin Entertainments became the largest visitorattraction operator in the world after Disney. Its 57 sites include Legoland and Alton Towers but about half itsturnover comes from overseas. Acquisition finance was provided by Blackstone as well as Dubai International Capital.

2 ActeonOffshore services provider

Norwich Dec 08 66.99% 73,034 26,189 309,154 1,595 First Reserve (51.5%)management (48.5%)

Norwich company Acteon supplies oil and gas companies with the equipment and services needed to link the seabedto the surface. Led by chief executive Richard Higham, the group comprises 15 companies and is backed by theenergy industry investor First Reserve, which bought out Lime Rock Partners in 2006.

3 R&R Ice CreamIce cream manufacturer

North Yorkshire Dec 08 65.07% 56,488 20,730 355,001 1,865 Oaktree Capitalmanagement

Claiming to be Europe’s largest ice cream manufacturer, R&R has brands such as Kelly’s of Cornwall and Skinny Cow.The company was formed when Richmond Foods was taken private in a £182m deal backed by Oaktree Capital in2006 and subsequently merged with the German firm Roncadin. R&R is led by chief executive James Lambert.

4 Wales & West UtilitiesGas distributor

Newport Mar 09 55.42% 125,600 52,000 309,400 1,376 Macquarie (50%), Canada Pension Plan(20%), Industry Funds Management (15%),AMP Capital (12%), others (3%)

Led by chief executive Graham Edwards, this Newport company distributes gas to businesses and 7.4m people livingin Wales and southwest England. Formerly part of National Grid Transco, Wales & West Utilities was formed in 2005when a consortium led by Macquarie European Infastructure Funds bought the network for £1.2 billion.

5 Abbot GroupDrilling contractor

Aberdeen Dec 08 54.73% *†190,713 79,662 *†1,060,287 7,350First Reserve (61%), Pamplona Capital(18%), other investment funds (21%)

Abbot Group designs, owns and operates drilling rigs for global oil and gas companies. In 2008 First Reservedelisted the Aberdeen company in a £906m deal in which founder Alasdair Locke reportedly earned £120m for his13% stake. He stepped down as chairman last year leaving Holger Temmen at the helm.

6 BetfairOnline bookmaker

West London Apr 09 43.87% 66,168 31,968 292,925 1,457 Softbank (23%)co-founders (24%)others (53%)

Betfair claims to be the largest online sports betting operator in Europe. It was founded in 1999 by Andrew Black andEdward Wray, using technology that allows punters to choose their own odds and bet against each other throughoutlive events. In 2006, Softbank, a Japanese technology investor, paid an estimated £345m for a 23% stake.

7 Spire HealthcarePrivate hospital operator

Central London Dec 08 37.60% 121,130 63,977 564,068 6,203 Cinvenmanagement

Spire Healthcare is the second largest private hospitals group in Britain, treating 1m patients a year in 36 hospitals.The London company was formed when Cinven backed the £1.4 billion acquisition of 25 former Bupa hospitals in2007, and brought in Robert Wise to be chief executive. It acquired a further 11 hospitals in 2008 for £168m.

8 ArqivaCommunications provider

Winchester Jun 09 37.07% 304,213 161,922 805,520 2,349 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board(CPPIB) (48%),consortium of other investors (52%)

This company provides much of the infrastructure behind television, radio and wireless communications in Britain.Arqiva was created in 2005 when a consortium bought NTL’s broadcasting infrastructure division for £1.3 billion,before acquiring National Grid Wireless in 2007 in a deal worth £2.5 billion. The two were merged in 2008.

9 All3MediaTV programme maker

Central London Aug 08 36.78% 50,287 26,878 370,231 1,754 Permira (51%)management (49%)

Responsible for shows such as Hollyoaks and Shameless, All3Media reckons it is Britain’s largest independent TVproduction group. It comprises 16 production companies across Europe and America and has an internationaldistribution firm. Permira backed a £320m secondary buyout of All3Media from Bridgepoint Capital in 2006.

10 MotoMotorway servicesoperator

Bedfordshire Dec 08 33.47% 52,644 *29,550 842,935 4,404 Macquarie Group & AffiliatesEquity Partners Infrastructure Companypension funds, management

Moto estimates that 100m people visit its 45 motorway service stations each year. In 2006 a consortium led byMacquarie Group bought Moto for an estimated £600m, and in 2009 Epic Investment Partners acquired a 17% stakefrom existing shareholders. Moto is led by chief executive Tim Moss.

8 BUYOUTTRACK100

The huge buyoutsthat put householdnames such as Alli-ance Boots and EMIinto the hands of

private equity have become adistantmemory.Around the world, big deals

have vanished as lending bybanks has dried up and invest-ment houses have delayed oreven abandoned fresh roundsof fundraising. In Britain, only11 buyouts worth more than£100m were completed lastyear, according to the Centrefor Management BuyoutResearch. Therewere 37 in 2008and 62 in 2007.Buyout houses and their

portfolio companies have beenbattered by the banking melt-down and the recession. Can-dover, for example, has beenforced to wind down its flag-ship fund after defaulting oncommitments to investors. Therespected buyout firm wasundoneby astringofhighly lev-eraged deals, including its nowworthless investment in thegaming group Gala Coral.This year’s Biggest 10 list,

compiled alongside the BuyoutTrack 100, identifies Britain’slargest private-equity-ownedfirms with the fastest-growingprofits over £50m. The researchmeasures the performance ofcompanies by profit growthover the latest two financialyears.With hindsight, the private-

equity model of using cheapand plentiful debt to pursueprofits through acquisitionappears overly optimistic todayas even established companiesstruggle to stay within theirbanking covenants. All but oneof the companies on this year’slist are tied into hefty interestrepayments. Spire Healthcare(No7), theprivatehospital oper-ator, All3Media (No9), whichproduces the television showsHollyoaks and Skins, and Moto(No10), the motorway servicesoperator, all repaid more eachyear in interest than theymadein ebitda profit in the last year.The exception is the online

bookmaker Betfair (No 6),

which has relinquished only23% of its shares to Softbank, aJapanese technology investor.Since launching the firm 11years ago, founders EdwardWray and Andrew Black haveadvocated a debt-free approach.The company has also benefit-ed from an anomaly in gam-bling taxation.Unlike tradition-al bookmakers, Betfair pays alevy on its commission ratherthan on punters’ profits.Merlin Entertainments

Group is the No1 company inthe Biggest 10 for the third yearrunning. The business, backedby Blackstone, Kirkbi Investand Dubai International Capi-tal, has been transformed froma mid-sized leisure firm into aglobal visitor-attraction opera-tor by an acquisition spree thatincluded the £1 billion pur-chase of Madame Tussauds in2007. But the company has alsoachieved significant organicgrowth thanks to the creationof new venues and upgrades ofbrands such as Sea Life andLegoland, according to chiefexecutive Nick Varney. Profitsare up 97% a year from £52m in2006 to £203m in 2008.The steady rise in the oil

price should help two compa-nies in the Biggest 10 that sup-ply the energy sector. Acteon,the offshore services providerat No 2, and Abbott Group, thedrilling contractor at No 5, arebenefiting from a long-termgrowth in demand for fuel.Further ahead, there are

glimmers of optimism. Lastmonth, strong interest fromseveral giants of the private-equity sector persuaded theowner of Pets at Home, Bridge-point, to abandon its plans for astock-market flotation and sellthe company to KKR for a hefty£955m. Merlin Entertainmentsis expected to seek a flotationlater this year and Betfair hasbrought in advisers to helpwith its ambition to float onthe market with a value of£1.5 billion.One thing is sure though —

whenever there is a chance tocreate value, the giants of pri-vate equity will be there.

Michael Owen promotes Betfair, which has shunned debt

10 biggest buyouts with fastest growing profits

Large dealsstart to makea comebackAfter a deathly year, private equity isstirring, writes Catherine Wheatley

NOTES: Figure for profit growth is taken over the latest two years for which accounts are available *Annualised figure †Unaudited accounts

Documents

Researched and compiled by BUYOUT TRACK · Research,thelowestfigurefor25years. Some companies, such as Apax-backed ... have transformed firms into mid-market superstars. LDC, part