Researched and compiled by BUYOUT TRACK

After its leveraged rise andcalamitous fall in the wake ofthe banking crisis, the private-equity industry is taking amore measured approach to

achieving returns.Cheap debt, quick flips and headline-

grabbing deals have all but disappeared.Instead, the industry is rediscovering itstraditional strengths — driving strategicand operational improvements at portfoliocompanies.This year’s Sunday Times Deloitte

Buyout Track 100 is a portrait of private-equity-backed firms in the middle of thebanking meltdown. The unique research,which measures the performance of port-folio companies by profit growth over thelatest two financial years — rather thanreturns achieved on exit — covers the finalmonths of expansion followed by recessionand early recovery.The fifth annual league table, compiled

by the Oxford-based research andnetworking-events company Fast Track,ranks businesses with the fastest-growingprofits under £50m, in which privateequity holds a stake of at least 20%. Half ofthis year’s firms have been rated on theirperformance between 2007 and 2009; theother half on that between 2008 and 2010.Despite the intense focus on cost-

cutting through the downturn, theresearch confirms that the industry has

created new jobs and additional sales at itsportfolio companies. Buyout Track 100firms have increased their profits by anaverage of 48% per annum over their latesttwo financial years, to a combined ebitda(earnings before interest, tax, depreciationand amortisation) of £1.4 billion, upslightly on last year’s £1.3 billion. Together,their sales total £9.2 billion, up from£6.8 billion over the period. They haveadded 16,198 jobs to payrolls, althoughmany of these positions are the result ofacquisitions.A quarter of all companies on this year’s

league table have completed mergers orbolt-ondeals to drive growth. Some, suchasTangerine Confectionery (No 20), haveacquired rivals. In 2008, the business,backed by Growth Capital Partners, paid£58m for the Cadbury division that makesButterkist popcorn. Others have pursuedbuy-and-build strategies. For example,Aesica Pharmaceuticals (No 3) has acquiredthree drug manufacturers with backingfrom LDC, the mid-market private- equityhouse that is part of Lloyds Banking GroupHealthcare and education companies

that provide services to the public sectorhave been particularly acquisitive,reflecting, perhaps, the desire to achieveefficiency through consolidation. Of the 15such firms on the league table, five,including Lifeways Community Care(No 12) and Teaching Personnel (No 81)have snapped up competitors.It comes as no surprise that improving

profit margins has proved tough throughthe recession.While averagemargins grewfrom 10% to 15% over the period, the figureis down on the 20% recorded last year.More encouragingly, there has been a

sharp rise in buyout activity among league-table firms, thanks to an uptick in banklending. Last year, 27 companies receivedprivate-equity backing, up from 10 on lastyear’s list. The shoe-store chain Office(No 39) was acquired by Silverfleet Capitalfor a reported £140m in December, forexample, while Charterhouse Capital Part-

ners completed a £325m secondary buyoutof Deb Group (No 57), maker of Swarfegahand-cleaner.Vector Capital completed the league

table’s latest public-to-private deal when itacquired Trafficmaster, the quoted fleet-management-software group in an £87mdeal. Mark Pacitti and Chris Hyams ofDeloitte examine the buyout market inmore detail on pages 3 and 10.Exits are also up as private-equity houses

comeunderpressure to return cash to inves-tors, with 12 backers of last year’s BuyoutTrack 100 firms getting out in 2010, againsta comparable figure of only three last time.Of these, half were trade sales, includingLion Capital’s disposal of crispmaker KettleFoods to the American business DiamondFoods for $615m (£402m). Apax-backed

Promethean, which makes classroomwhiteboards, and Betfair, the onlinegaming group on last year’s 10 Biggest list,both floated on the stock market. As JonHerbert of Lloyds Bank Corporate Marketsexplains on page 4, bank lending for theright deals should improve this year.Several league-table entrepreneurs,

includingCathKidston,whose eponymoushomeware business is at No 18, and MarkNeale, who started the outdoor-equipmentretailerMountainWarehouse (No 45), havecompleted partial exits and realised someof the wealth they have created. MichaelBishop of UBS Wealth Management con-siders exit strategies for founders in moredetail on page 8.Only two weeks ago, the backers of the

online DVD rental service Lovefilm.com,

this year’s No 1 company, became thelatest private-equity consortium to an-nounce a high-profile exit. Index Ven-tures, Balderton Capital and others haveagreed to sell their stake to the world’slargest online retailer, Amazon, for areported £200m. Chief executive SimonCalver has driven impressive growth, gath-ering 1.4m subscribers and boosting profitsby 284% a year from £1.1m in 2007 to £16min 2009. Skillcapital’s Tim Macready dis-cusses how experienced managers cansteer portfolio firms to success on page 6.Lovefilm.com is one of 51 service-sector

firms on the league table, reflectingBritain’s broader economic landscape.Retail is also strongly represented, with 28companies, ranging from leisure equip-ment stores Go Outdoors (No 2) and Evans

Cycles (No 4) to fashion chains Jack Wills(No 36) and Kurt Geiger (No 99). Manufac-turers, including Survitec (No 55), whichmakes safety and survival equipment, andyacht builder Oyster Marine (No 88)account for a further 15 slots.Once again,many of this year’s firms are

in counter-cyclical or recession-proof sec-tors. Discount retailers such as Poundland(No 46) and 99p Stores (No 84) have faredwell, as have businesses that collect debtsuch asMarlin Financial Group (No 15) andApex CreditManagement (No 59).Many of the firms are showing long-

term sustainable growth, withWoodMac-kenzie (No 63) and Castlebeck (No 72)having appeared on all five Buyout Track100 league tables.Every year, the Buyout Track 100

highlights the private-equity firms andmanagements that have transformedpromising ventures into mid-marketpowerhouses. LDC is this year’sbest-represented house, with 10 portfoliocompanies on the league table. BarclaysPrivate Equity, Bowmark Capital andInflexion Private Equity each have four.But the league table also reveals that

even profitable mid-market companies arestill carrying considerable debt. Sevenreported debts ofmore than £200m in theirlatest accounts,while the average figure, at£56m, is four times average profits.As the threat of a double-dip recession

returns, private-equity-backed firms suchas those on the Buyout Track 100 are goingback to basics. Paying down debt anddrivingupprofitswill be the key to success.

Private equity backed companies with the fastest growing profi ts

In association with

FAST TRACK

The credit crunchforced private equityfirms to return totheir old strengthsin restructuring thecompanies theybought — and it isworking, reportsCatherine Wheatley

THEBuyout Track 100 league tableand events programme is producedby Fast Track, Britain’s leadingnetworking-events companyfocusing on top-performing privatecompanies and entrepreneurs. FastTrack researches and publishesseven annual league tableswith TheSunday Times, ranking the fastest-growing to the biggest privatecompanies, and runs invitation-onlyevents and dinners for entrepreneursto network andmeet our sponsors.

BUYOUTTRACK

Researched and compiled by

February 6, 2011

THEBuyout Track 100 league table ranksBritain'smid-market private-equity-backedcompanieswith the fastest-growing profitsover 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 bemore than £3m—but lessthan £50m— in the latest accounts.Companies had to show an increase inprofits frompenultimate to latest financialyear. The latest sales had to be above

£10m. Companieswith profits above£50mare included in a separate “10Biggest” league table, featured on page10. Profits are defined as earnings beforeinterest, 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 December 2010 being the latestfinancial year end fromwhich figures arefeatured. Some figures are taken fromunaudited andmanagement accounts. Ofthe 100 companies appearing in theleague table, 50 had financial years endingin 2009 and 50 had financial years endingin 2010.Note that the sponsors of the Buyout

Track 100 do not endorse, guarantee orrecommend any of the named companies.Data collection:Companieswereidentified in severalways. Somenominated themselves orwere 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.com/Private Equity Insightdatabase.We have endeavoured to trackandmonitor all UK-based private-equity-backed companies. Nevertheless, wemayhavemissed some companies, andfeedback or nominations for next year’stable arewelcome.Short-listed companieswere

interviewed by phone. In addition, morethan half of the short-listed companieswere visited by Fast Track researchersduring the course of the research.Ownership:We included companiesbacked by UK and overseas private-equityand venture-capital firms, aswell asinfrastructure funds such as BarclaysInfrastructure Funds, which ownsUPP.Incomplete information:Companies thatfiled their accounts late and thoseaccounts thatwere not processed by ourresearch deadline of January 1, 2011were excluded, aswere deals thatweredone after this deadline.

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

2 BUYOUTTRACK100

www.zephyrdealdata.com

1 3 Lovefilm.com Online DVD rental provider West London Dec 09 283.72% 15,961 1,084 97,170 427 Private-equity consortium (38%), Amazon (45%), management and others (17%) 32 40 Go Outdoors Outdoor equipment retailer Sheffield Jan 10 114.04% *6,617 1,444 *74,005 497 YFM Group (21%), management (79%) 33 50 Aesica Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Newcastle Dec 09 105.74% 14,700 *3,473 84,600 615 LDC (60%), management (40%) 34 Evans Cycles Bicycle retailer West Sussex Oct 09 103.83% 6,054 1,457 72,969 715 Active Private Equity (70%), management and others (30%) 35 Celerant Consulting Operational management consultancy Richmond Dec 09 100.31% 7,483 1,865 122,729 571 Caledonia Investments (47%), management (53%) 36 XLN Telecom Telecoms services provider Central London Mar 10 100.11% 11,572 2,890 54,862 153 ECI Partners (above 50%), management (below 50%) 37 Hellermann Tyton Cable manufacturer Manchester Dec 09 90.77% 7,435 2,043 37,753 427 Doughty Hanson (100%) 38 Acturis Software services provider Central London Sep 09 88.24% 5,750 1,623 14,083 110 Summit Partners (above 20%), management (below 80%) 39 United House Group Building contractor Kent Dec 09 86.71% 11,169 3,204 159,645 466 LDC (40%), management (60%) 310 DWS Bodyworks Car repairer Essex Sep 09 84.13% 4,135 *1,220 36,755 379 Risk Capital Partners (60%), management (40%) 311 1 Skrill Online payment provider Central London Dec 09 81.73% 18,956 5,740 42,655 317 Investcorp (51%), founders and management (49%) 412 32 Lifeways Community Care Community care provider Southwest London May 10 76.83% 6,983 *2,233 57,875 3,009 August Equity (78%), management (22%) 413 29 Achilles Group Procurement consultancy Abingdon Apr 10 74.00% 10,636 3,513 37,979 579 Hg Capital (69%), management (31%) 414 Quantum Pharmaceutical Pharmaceutical manufacturer County Durham Jan 10 73.98% 7,328 2,421 29,983 180 LDC (47.5%), management (52.5%) 415 Marlin Financial Group Debt purchaser West Sussex Dec 09 70.09% 6,706 2,318 11,542 68 Duke Street Capital (58%), management (42%) 416 46 Kelway IT services provider Central London Mar 10 67.25% 8,408 3,006 178,140 355 Core Capital (25%), management and staff (75%) 417 63 Rixonway Kitchen maker West Yorkshire Feb 10 67.21% 5,113 1,829 28,811 430 August Equity (60%), management (40%) 418 Cath Kidston Lifestyle retailer Central London Mar 10 66.56% 8,785 3,167 50,369 383 TA Associates (62%), Cath Kidston (21%), management (17%) 419 Nexus Industries Electrical products supplier Telford Dec 09 66.28% 4,075 1,474 44,537 248 Epic Investments (49.9%), managment (50.1%) 420 47 Tangerine Confectionery Confectionery maker Blackpool Dec 09 65.14% 13,109 4,807 154,549 1,343 Growth Capital Partners (41%), management (40%), others (19%) 421 Worldmark Identification systems developer Lanarkshire Dec 09 65.11% 13,432 4,927 73,051 1,413 Barclays Private Equity (70%), management (30%) 422 5 UPP University accommodation provider Central London Aug 10 63.20% †41,585 15,614 †84,219 353 Barclays Infrastructure Funds (100%) 423 DCK Jewellery retailer Essex Jan 10 60.56% 19,560 7,587 190,498 1,953 Caird Capital (20%), management and others (80%) 424 44 Inchcape Shipping Services Marine services provider Essex Dec 09 58.97% 41,546 16,440 322,114 3,568 Istithmar World Capital (85%), management and staff (15%) 425 Aim Aviation Aircraft interior designer Bournemouth Apr 10 58.41% †13,300 5,300 †69,200 800 LDC (above 50%), management (below 50%) 426 Bounty Pregnancy and parenting club Welwyn Garden City Dec 09 56.69% 8,289 3,376 30,292 688 Barclays Private Equity (63%), management (37%) 527 Data Explorers Financial data provider Central London Jun 10 55.98% †4,825 *1,983 †17,490 100 Bowmark Capital (51%), management (49%) 528 Thompson & Morgan Garden seed supplier Ipswich Jun 10 55.57% 3,899 1,611 40,602 294 Primary Capital (52%), management (48%) 529 Quantel Broadcasting technology provider Newbury Sep 09 54.61% 4,480 1,874 39,093 243 LDC (55%), management and staff (45%) 530 Gamma Telecom Telecoms network operator Newbury Dec 09 54.49% 6,540 2,740 141,292 263 Kerry Group (46%), Michael Stone (24%), Sofaer Capital (21%), others (9%) 531 11 Cognita Schools operator Milton Keynes Aug 09 54.40% 26,632 11,171 138,618 2,937 Bregal Capital (81%), management (19%) 532 49 Wiggle Online sports goods retailer Portsmouth Jan 10 52.90% 7,402 3,166 55,597 92 Isis Equity Partners (48%), management (52%) 533 JHP Group Training services provider Coventry Jul 10 51.87% †10,158 4,404 †62,642 1,400 LDC (78%), management (22%) 534 Thomsons Online Benefits Employee benefits software developer Central London Dec 09 50.45% 3,434 1,517 16,319 132 Pi Capital (48%), Michael Whitfield (29%), Chris Bruce (23%) 535 Hobbycraft Group Craft goods retailer Dorset Feb 10 48.97% 12,155 5,477 84,366 1,538 Bridgepoint (above 50%), management and others (below 50%) 536 22 Jack Wills Fashion retailer Northwest London Jan 10 47.98% 10,156 4,638 64,764 1,286 Inflexion Private Equity (27%), management (73%) 537 Engine Group Marketing agency Central London Dec 09 47.98% 13,038 5,954 59,102 540 HIG Capital (38%), management and staff (47%), institutional shareholders (15%) 538 74 FDM Group IT services provider Brighton Dec 10 46.39% †11,277 5,262 †83,736 784 Inflexion Private Equity (61.5%), management (38.5%) 539 93 Office Shoe retailer Central London Jan 10 45.00% *18,388 8,746 *142,923 1,748 Silverfleet Capital (95%), Brian McCluskey (5%) 540 51 Tinopolis Film and television producer South Wales Sep 09 44.28% 6,926 3,327 65,750 389 Vitruvian Partners (70%), management (30%) 541 Britax Childcare Child car seat maker Surrey Dec 09 44.14% 36,161 17,405 202,872 1,010 Nordic Capital (above 50%), management (below 50%) 542 ATP International Business travel agency Central London Dec 09 43.99% 15,731 *7,587 74,606 1,040 Barclays Private Equity (60%), management (40%) 643 99 Attenda IT services provider West London Dec 09 43.67% 5,668 2,746 33,186 209 M/C Venture Partners and Phoenix Equity Partners (52%), management (48%) 644 CPL Industries Solid fuels supplier Chesterfield Mar 10 40.74% 20,600 10,400 132,800 549 Royal Bank of Scotland (46%), Vision Capital (39%), management (15%) 645 23 Mountain Warehouse Outdoor clothing retailer Central London Feb 10 40.39% 9,038 *4,585 47,534 654 LDC (below 50%), management (above 50%) 646 92 Poundland Discount retailer West Midlands Mar 10 40.02% 30,053 15,328 509,791 6,702 Warburg Pincus (76%), management (24%) 647 Adelie Food Food producer and distributor Milton Keynes Oct 09 39.97% *12,804 6,535 *231,270 3,248 Duke Street Capital (above 50%), management (below 50%) 648 Republic Fashion retailer Leeds Jan 10 39.73% 33,588 17,202 173,302 2,459 Texas Pacific Group (above 50%), management (below 50%) 649 LGC Analytical services laboratory Southwest London Mar 10 38.85% 20,731 10,753 123,569 1,332 Bridgepoint (above 50%), management (below 50%) 650 A-Gas International Chemicals and gases distributor Bristol Dec 10 38.51% †10,300 5,369 †52,000 130 Growth Capital Partners (40%), management (60%) 651 Las Iguanas Restaurant operator Bristol Mar 10 38.10% 4,050 *2,123 29,753 754 Bowmark Capital (52%), Eren Ali (23%), current and former management (25%) 652 Inexus Gas transportation operator Cardiff Jun 10 38.08% †43,531 22,831 †60,007 249 Challenger Infrastructure Fund (83%), others (13%), management (4%) 653 41 Weldex Crane hirer Inverness Nov 09 36.64% 14,277 7,647 27,201 128 Dunedin Capital Partners (58%), McGilvray family (37%), NVM Private Equity (5%) 654 17 Ultimate Products Homeware designer and sourcer Manchester Jul 10 35.89% †6,790 3,677 †78,264 224 LDC (46%), management (54%) 655 95 Survitec Group Safety equipment maker Belfast Mar 10 35.32% 34,814 19,013 161,951 1,270 Warburg Pincus (above 20%), management (below 80%) 656 66 National Fostering Agency Foster care agency West London Mar 10 35.00% 10,260 5,630 53,908 200 Sovereign Capital (50%), Edwina Beech (21%), Michael Lovett (21%), staff (8%) 657 Deb Group Skincare product maker Derbyshire Dec 09 34.43% 35,534 19,663 140,120 688 Charterhouse (80%), management (20%) 658 DC Leisure Management Leisure facility operator Surrey Mar 10 34.07% 13,648 7,593 103,858 1,871 Sovereign Capital (70%), management (30%) 759 Apex Credit Management Debt purchaser Stratford-upon-Avon Dec 09 33.90% 3,620 2,019 24,007 195 Anacap Financial Partners (100%) 760 Griffin Marine Travel Marine travel agency Central London Dec 09 33.11% 12,673 7,152 24,751 503 Inflexion Private Equity (25%), management (75%) 761 Adapt Managed services provider Central London Jun 10 32.94% †3,137 1,775 †30,647 85 Private-equity consortium (25%), management (75%) 762 2 Callcredit Information Group Business risk evaluator Leeds Dec 09 31.75% 11,747 6,767 53,645 642 Vitruvian Partners (above 50%), management (below 50%) 763 69 Wood Mackenzie Energy research consultancy Edinburgh Dec 09 31.42% 48,500 28,080 108,263 700 Charterhouse (77%), management and staff (23%) 764 MandMDirect.com Online discount retailer Herefordshire Feb 10 30.29% 14,299 8,423 107,822 588 TA Associates (78%), management (22%) 765 43 EIC Building services provider West Midlands Dec 09 30.11% 7,830 4,625 93,287 617 MML Capital (67%), management (33%) 766 FMG Support Fleet management services provider Huddersfield Sep 09 29.93% 4,447 2,634 78,757 419 Spirit Capital Partners (40%), N Brown (40%), other management (20%) 767 36 Frozen Value Value food retailer Barnsley Jan 10 29.78% 3,077 1,827 51,013 830 3i (40%), management (60%) 768 Leaders Lettings Residential letting agent Worthing Mar 10 29.73% 4,146 2,464 24,209 466 Bowmark Capital (71%), management (29%) 769 CastleCare Youth care homes operator Northamptonshire Dec 09 29.64% 3,419 2,034 20,247 456 Baird Capital Partners (72%), management (26%), others (2%) 770 Rosemont Pharmaceuticals Liquid pharmaceuticals manufacturer Leeds Dec 09 29.45% 17,971 10,724 37,019 208 CBPE Capital (80%), management (20%) 771 The Original Factory Shop Discount retailer Burnley Mar 10 29.19% 14,892 8,923 116,853 2,500 Duke Street Capital (70%), management (30%) 772 67 Castlebeck Specialist healthcare provider Darlington Dec 09 28.76% 31,266 *18,857 85,225 1,908 Lydian Capital Partners (80%), management (20%) 773 Zenith Provecta Vehicle leasing services provider Leeds Mar 10 28.63% 8,888 *5,372 125,387 157 Morgan Stanley Private Equity (60%), management (40%) 774 10 Wireless Infrastructure Group Wireless tower operator Lanarkshire Dec 09 28.18% 10,815 6,582 17,120 29 Royal Bank of Scotland (43%), Penta Capital (22%), other investors (35%) 875 87 Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Aircraft tyre manufacturer Birmingham Dec 09 27.69% 7,321 4,490 30,727 314 AAC Capital Partners (75%), management (25%) 876 96 National Accident Helpline Legal services marketing agency Northamptonshire Dec 09 26.92% 9,026 5,603 29,028 54 LDC (30%), Inflexion Private Equity (30%), management (40%) 877 Civica IT services provider Southwest London Sep 10 26.90% †28,705 17,826 †170,291 1,548 3i (74%), management (26%) 878 Arthouse Home decoration supplier Lancashire Dec 09 26.80% 3,564 2,216 20,827 50 Total Capital Partners (43%), management (57%) 879 Innovia Films Film manufacturer Cumbria Dec 09 26.75% 45,573 28,368 307,864 1,376 Candover (84%), management (16%) 880 i2 Software developer Cambridge Dec 09 26.62% 12,833 8,004 27,963 163 Silver Lake Sumeru (70%), management (3%), others (27%) 881 84 Teaching Personnel Supply teacher recruiter Welwyn Garden City Nov 09 26.37% 5,728 3,587 46,337 192 Graphite Capital (64.5%), management (35.5%) 882 100 Yo! Sushi Japanese restaurant operator Central London Nov 09 25.92% 6,361 4,012 41,700 1,149 Quilvest Private Equity (71%), management (29%) 883 82 Dreams Bed retailer High Wycombe Dec 09 25.48% 25,121 15,955 243,570 1,774 Exponent (above 50%), management (below 50%) 884 99p Stores Discount retailer Northampton Jan 10 25.31% 4,523 2,880 183,472 2,156 Barclays Ventures (25%), Lalani family (51%), others (24%) 885 72 Microlease Electronic equipment provider Northwest London Feb 10 25.26% 13,496 8,601 29,772 120 LDC (71%), management (29%) 886 Andrew Page Vehicle component distributor Leeds May 10 25.24% 13,017 8,299 111,501 1,168 Phoenix Equity Partners (above 50%), management (below 50%) 887 Tobar Group Toy and gift retailer Suffolk Jun 10 25.00% 3,274 2,095 51,915 488 Primary Capital (50%), management (50%) 888 Oyster Marine Yacht builder Ipswich Dec 09 24.92% 7,414 4,751 53,834 254 Balmoral Capital (99%), management (1%) 889 Hotter Comfort Concept Footwear retailer Lancashire Jan 10 24.88% 8,814 5,652 44,456 354 Gresham Private Equity (45%), S Houlgrave (45%), management (10%) 990 M&C Energy Group Energy consultancy Fife Jun 10 24.77% †3,887 2,497 †25,473 330 Lyceum Capital (67%), management (33%) 991 Danwood Group Office equipment supplier Lincoln Sep 09 24.69% 17,423 11,207 194,072 1,295 Bregal Capital (40%), management (60%) 992 27 Healthcare Homes Care provider Essex Sep 09 24.58% 5,787 3,729 28,997 942 Bowmark Capital (80%), management (20%) 993 Anglian Group Home improvement products supplier Norwich Mar 10 24.55% 14,739 9,501 209,228 2,056 Consortium of financial institutions (95%), management (5%) 994 Azzurri Communications Telecoms services provider Walsall Jun 10 24.33% †14,452 9,349 †141,056 721 Silverfleet Capital (65%), management (35%) 995 Tuffnells Parcels Express Express parcel courier Sheffield Dec 10 23.81% †11,400 *7,437 †103,100 1,800 Caird Capital (30%), management (70%) 996 Brighthouse Household goods retailer Watford Mar 10 22.07% 34,091 22,879 197,327 1,825 Vision Capital (87%), management (13%) 997 Apogee Corporation Document handling services provider Southwest London Dec 09 21.38% 6,125 4,157 32,505 136 LMS Capital (29%), management (71%) 998 TJ Hughes Department store operator Liverpool Jan 10 21.38% 12,782 8,676 266,710 4,189 Silverfleet Capital (85%), management (15%) 999 Kurt Geiger Shoe retailer Central London Jan 10 20.57% 14,534 9,998 162,566 1,118 Graphite Capital (below 50%), management (above 50%) 9100 Trafficmaster Fleet management software provider Bedfordshire Dec 09 20.57% 13,621 9,370 57,466 524 Vector Capital (100%) 9

Rank 2011

Rank 2010

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

Private equity backed firmswith fastest growing profits

† Accounts not filed at Companies House * Annualised figure

PlantHirer 114.24%

2 TORFXForeign currency provider 217.12%

tHir

4 THE HUT GROUPE-commerce operator 161.92%

114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat1 LOVEFILM.COMOnline DVD rental firm 283.72%

LOVEFILM.COM is one of Europe’sleading film-subscription services,offeringmore than 70,000movies to its1.4mmembers in Britain, Sweden,Norway, Denmark and Germany.The London-headquartered company

has rapidly grown its profile alongside itsnumber of subscribers since its launch in2002 as Online Rentals. It rebranded asLovefilm.com and the business expandedby acquiring a succession of smaller rivals,most noticeably Video Island for £80m inApril 2006. Two years later it boughtAmazon.com’s European DVD rentalbusinesses in Britain and Germany for anundisclosed sum. At the same time,Amazon, theworld’s largest online retailer,took a bigminority stake in the business,which it later increased to 45%.Lastmonth the company announced

that an agreement had been reached forAmazon to acquire it outright. The deal,which is thought to value the business atabout £200m, is subject to regulatoryapproval, and is expected to be completedlater thismonth or next.

Lovefilm’s customers sign up fordifferently priced subscriptions to rent anumber of physical and digital movieseachmonth, which are sent out fromLovefilm’s warehouse in Peterborough,Cambridgeshire, and returned in apostage-paid envelope. Movies areavailable in DVD and Blu-ray formats.Subscribers can also rent video games.Subscription rates start at £5.99 amonthand there are no late-return fees.The company is now focusing on

becoming a hybrid business, offeringboth DVD rentals and online films as itadapts to the growing number of peoplewhowant to stream content directly intotheir homes.InMay last year, Lovefilm launched an

on-demand streaming video service andjoinedwith Sony and Samsung to offer amovie-subscription service on theirinternet-connected TVs. It also confirmeda content deal with a leadingindependent distributor, MomentumPictures, which allows its members towatch online a catalogue of exclusivetitles for at least one year before theirwider release, for example The GirlWithThe Dragon Tattoo.The company signed an agreement

with Icon FilmDistribution last month to

become the only streaming service inBritain to have exclusive access to Icon’s2010 releases. Titles includemulti-Academy-Award-nominated Precious,A SingleMan and Edge of Darkness.In amove to increase its share in the

movie-streamingmarket, Lovefilm lastyear joined upwith Sony to stream achoice of more than 2,500 films to theowners of PlayStation 3 consoles inBritain, who number about fourmillionat present.The company is led by chief executive

Simon Calver and backed by aconsortium comprising private-equityand venture-capital houses DFJ Esprit,Balderton Capital and Index Ventures aswell as Arts AllianceMedia. Theconsortium took an initial 50% stake in2006. Calver says that future plansinclude increasing the company’spenetration into British homes from 4%to 8% and expects turnover to pushbeyond the £250mmark in five years.Tough cost controls, pay freezes and

economies of scale, combined with atelevision-advertising campaign and arapidly expanding number ofmemberspayingmonthly subscription fees, havehelped profits to rise by 284% a year, from£1.1m in 2007 to £16m in 2009.

As the dust settlesafter months of fin-ancial turbulenceand uncertainty, apicture is emerging

of a surprisingly healthy mid-market where private-equity-backed firms have performedstrongly through thedownturn.Outstanding companies

such as those on the BuyoutTrack 100 have defied difficultconditions to build robust trad-ing records that are temptingpotential buyers after a periodin which auction processeshave stuttered andmany trans-actions been aborted.For example, last year

Deloitte advised Zeus PrivateEquity on the sale of XLN Tel-ecom, at No 6 on the leaguetable.After receiving several un-solicited offers over a period ofseveral months, we workedwith Zeus to bring the firm,which provides phone andbroadband services to smallbusinesses, to market severalmonths ahead of schedule. XLNwas eventually snapped up byanother private-equity inves-tor, ECI, in a deal that providedZeus with a 4.5 times return onits initial £6.6m investment.Moving into 2011, we expect

to see more exits involvingthese outperforming busi-nesses, as both private-equityinvestors and trade buyersresume spending, encouragedby an upturn in bank lending

and a strong desire tomove for-ward. As optimism grows, thiscould be the year when mid-market transactions such asXLN take off again.Buyout activity has already

been growing over the past 12months, but it started from avery low base. Private-equityhouses completed 164 dealswith a combined value of£18.2 billion last year, against122 transactionsworth a total of£4.7 billion in 2009, accordingto the Centre for ManagementBuyout Research.But the fourfold increase in

value was driven by a handfulof very large transactions, suchas the purchase of auto-partsmaker Tomkins by the Cana-dian private-equity groupOnexfor a reported £2.9 billion, andthe acquisition of the RBScredit-card business WorldPayby Advent International andBain Capital for a reported£1.7 billion. Of the smaller buy-outs, many were completed atrelatively low multiples, asprivate-equity buyers soughtvalue in a difficult market.Furthermore, a striking

number of auctions and tradesales last year were character-ised by poor levels of interestand lengthy processes, whichdid not always lead to comple-tion. For example, discussionsbetween Lion Capital andMorgan Stanley Private Equityabout the sale of former Buyout

Track 100 company Waga-mama collapsed late last year,reportedly the third time atransaction involving thenoodle chain had fallenthrough. And it is said thatAmazon had been in takeovertalks with this year’s No 1 com-pany, Lovefilm.com, for threeyears prior to the recentlyannounced £200m deal.In some cases where deals

have collapsed, vendors havebeen simply testing themarketwithout necessarily being com-mitted to a sale. Elsewhere,potential purchasers have pro-ceeded with extreme caution.Increasingly, Deloitte andother financial advisers are

being asked to create custom-ised disposal processes thatinclude building relationshipsearly with UK and overseastrade buyers as well as sup-porting management on theirpre-diligence work and busi-ness planning activities.But this yearwe expect to see

an upturn in mid-market dealcompletions, as both buyersand sellers turn their attentiontowards profitable private-equity-backed ventures such asthose on the Buyout Track 100.Already, we have seen a sharprise in transactions among thisyear’s league-table companies.IncludingXLN, a total of 27 busi-nesses, such as family-ownedretailer Hobbycraft Group(No 35), and child-car-seatmaker Britax Childcare (No 41),held by Carlyle Group, securedprivate-equity backing in 2010.Only 10 ventures on the pre-vious year’s league table did so.Now, after months of inac-

tivity, private-equity investorsare ready to start spendingagain. Bank debt has becomemore readily available, andinterest rates have settled atabout 450 points over Libor onA-rated loans, says FentonBurgin, a partner in the debtadvisorygroupatDeloitte.How-ever, he adds that funds remaintough to secure for dealsinvolving smaller firms withprofits of below €25m (£21.5m).As many private-equity

houses have funds to invest,wecan expect to see more dealswith high equity-to-debt ratiosin 2011. Last year, debtincluding mezzanine, loannotes and other financinginstruments accounted for only32% of the average total dealvalue, against 65% in 2005,according to theCentre forMan-agement Buyout Research.

In June, for example, War-burg Pincus completed a sec-ondary buyout of discountretailer Poundland, at No 46 onthe league table, in a £200m all-equity deal.But private equity is also

under pressure to sell. Manyhouses are eager to show theycan return cash from invest-ments made before the finan-cial crisis as they start com-peting to raise funds from theshrinking pool ofmoney put upby institutional investors.On the corporate side, 2011

looks set to be the year whenspending resumes. Our DeloitteCFO (chief financial officer) Sur-

vey for the final quarter of 2010reveals expansion has becomethe toppriority for financedirec-tors. Cutting costs, last year’smain concern, has moved tothird place behind improvingcashflow. Buoyed by healthybalance sheets, the keyopportu-nities most frequently cited byBritish directors include under-taking acquisitions at lowerprices, and expanding abroad.We also expect to see more

trade buyers fromAsia, particu-larly China, encouraged by theweak sterling exchange rate.So what will buyers look for

in 2011? Undoubtedly, investorswill be seeking firms that have

performed consistentlythrough a tough market, suchas Office, the shoe retailer atNo 39 on the league table. In ahighly competitive market, ithas raised profits by 45% a year,from £8.7m in 2008 to an annu-alised £18.4m in 2010. Silver-fleet Capital acquired the chainfrom Sir Tom Hunter’s WestCoast Capital for a reported£140m in December.Private-equity buyers will

also seek opportunities to takestrong firms in new directionsto deliver additional growth.More generally, we expect

investors to focus on compa-nies that have a high profile,

such as consumer-goods firmslike Britax, the bicycle-storechain Evans Cycles (No 4) andsports-goods etailer Wiggle(No 32). Both have benefitedfrom the resurgence in pedal-powered commuting, espe-cially in London.Looking ahead, the new

emphasis on private-equitybolt-ons and corporate expan-sion suggests the recovery islikely to strengthen this year.We look forward to facilitatingfuture growth among BuyoutTrack 100 firms and beyond.nMarkPacitti, head of London cor-porate finance advisory at Deloitte,was talking to CatherineWheatley

Fistful of dollars: Lovefilm’s Simon Calver posted profit rise of 284% a year. Now it is being sold to Amazon in £200m deal

More outstanding mid-marketfirms will attract private-equitybuyers in the next 12 months,says Mark Pacitti of Deloitte

THE SUNDAY TIMESthesundaytimes.co.uk/business 06.02.11 3

Star of the movie rental business shines brightly

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat2 GO OUTDOORS

Outdoor equipment retailer 114.04%

THIS firm claims it can kit out itscustomers for any outdoor adventure,fromwalking the dog to conquering K2,the world’s second-highestmountainafter Everest. This approach has helpedthe Sheffield retailer to open 27 UK storesthat stock camping, climbing, fishing andcycling equipment. Private-equity houseYFM backed a £1.5m buyout in 1998, andthe firm is now chaired by John Lovering,the former chairman of Debenhams andSomerfield, and led by president PaulCaplan.With the recession forcingmorepeople to stay in Britain for their holidays,profits have risen 114% a year, from £1.4min 2008 to an annualised £6.6m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat3 AESICA PHARMACEUTICALS

Pharmaceuticals maker 105.74%

AESICA PHARMACEUTICALSmakesactive ingredients and finishedmedicinesfor drug companies such as Abbott, Merck,GSK and Pfizer as well as smaller biotechfirms. It also offers consultancy services.Chief executive Robert Hardy led themanagement buyout of BASF’s Britishdrugmaking business in 2004 backed byLDC, the private-equity house that is partof Lloyds Banking Group. The Newcastlefirm acquired plants fromMerck in 2006,Abbott in 2007 and R5 Pharmaceuticals inJune 2010, all of which have helped driveup profits 106% a year, from an annualised£3.5m in 2007 to £14.7m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat4 EVANS CYCLES

Bicycle retailer 103.83%

THE economic downturn has led a largenumber of people to consider cheaper

forms of transport such as cycling,according to the retailer Evans Cycles.The business operates from 36 stores, aswell as online, and opened four newoutlets last year. The companywasfounded in London in 1921 and bought bythe Smith family in the 1950s. In 2008,Active Private Equity acquired amajoritystake for an undisclosed sum. Increasedsales and efficiencies of scale have helpedprofits to rise by 104% a year, from £1.5min 2007 to £6.1m in 2009, under managingdirectorMike Rice.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat5 CELERANT CONSULTING

Management consultancy 100.31%

COMPANIES turn to Celerant for helpwithmanaging change. From offices inEurope, theMiddle East and America, thisLondon-based company helps clients toimprove their operations by refiningorganisational effectiveness, improvingprocesses, and streamlining supplychains. The firm specialises in theenergy, chemicals andmanufacturingsectors, and ismoving into private-equityconsulting. Chief executive Ian Clarksonled a £42m buyout fromNovell in 2006,backed by Caledonia Investments. Profitshave risen by 100% a year, from £1.9m in2007 to £7.5m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat6 XLN TELECOM

Telecoms services provider 100.11%

LAUNCHED by Christian Nellemann in2002, this London-headquarteredcompany supplies more than 125,000small businesses with fixed telephonelines, broadband services and low-costnational and international calls frommobile phones. XLN says it is now one ofthe biggest independent providers oftelecom services to small firms in

Britain. The private-equity group ECIPartners backed a £78m secondary buyoutfrom Zeus Private Equity in September.The continued growth in the number ofnew customers has helped the company’sprofits to rise by 100% a year, from £2.9min 2008 to £11.6m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat7 HELLERMANN TYTON

Cable management products 90.77%

HELLERMANNTYTON is a globalmanufacturer and distributor of a rangeofmore than 20,000 products used toinstall and protect electrical andcommunications networks. Its corebusiness is in plastic ties for fasteningcables. Founded in 1933 inManchester,the business now has operationsspanning 34 countries. The private-equityhouse Doughty Hanson bought thecompany from Spirent, the listedtelecommunications business, for £288min February 2006. Undermanagingdirector Tim Evans, profits haveincreased by 91% a year, from £2m in2007 to £7.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat8 ACTURIS

Software services provider 88.24%

ACTURIS provides a software service thatautomates administrative tasks andtrading for the insurance industry.Founded in 2000, the London companycounts among its clients a variety ofregional and community insurancebrokers, as well as banks and insurancegiants such as Aviva and Allianz. Theinvestment firm Summit Partners backeda buyout last June for an undisclosedamount, taking aminority share in thebusiness. Led by joint chief executivesDavidMcDonald and Theo Duchen anddriven by a rise in electronic trading of

commercial insurance, the firm’s profitsrose by 88% a year, from £1.6m in 2007 to£5.7m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat9 UNITED HOUSE GROUP

Building contractor 86.71%

UNITEDHOUSE is a leading contractor,developer and investor operating inLondon and the south of England. Itspecialises in new and refurbished socialhousing, urban regeneration, privateresidential development and public-privatepartnership projects. By the end of 2010,the group had deliveredmore than 80,000“Decent Homes” as well asmaintaining anannual new-build programme of 500 socialand high-end private homes. Last year itwas also awarded Britain’s biggestlow-carbon retrofit contract to date for upto 200 homes in Islington, London. InMarch 2010 chief executive Jeffrey Adamsled amanagement buyout backed by LDC ,the private-equity house that is part ofLloyds Banking Group, for an undisclosedsum. Profits have risen 87% a year, from£3.2m in 2007 to £11.2m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat10 DWS BODYWORKSCar repairer 84.13%

DWS repairs damaged cars and lightcommercial vehicles for insurers from 15premises around theM25. It carries outroughly 50,000 vehicle repairs a year andhas a key relationshipwith RSA, formerlyRoyal and Sun Alliance, dealing with 85%of its insurance claims in London. By2015, DWS is looking to have expanded to22 sites and increased turnover to £75m.Risk Capital Partners took amajoritystake in the Essex-based company for anundisclosed sum inMarch last year.Profits have grown 84% a year, from anannualised £1.2m in 2007 to £4.1m in 2009.

Buyouts are setto bounce back

Sitting comfortably: Britax Childcare is one of the 27 firms on the league table to get private-equity backing in 2010

AFTER MONTHS OFINACTIVITY,PRIVATE-EQUITYINVESTORS AREREADY TO STARTSPENDING AGAIN

EDBRAZIER

Close to the top: John Graham, chief executive of Go Outdoors

’’

Jon Herbert of LloydsBank CorporateMarkets says moredebt will be availablefor the right deals inthe coming year

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat11 SKRILLOnline payment provider 81.73%

THE London-based online paymentproviderMoneybookers, which isrebranding itself as Skrill, claims that15m people use its technology. Thecompany says this technology is assophisticated as anything designed by thebig banks or credit-card companies. Itallows anyone with an e-mail address tosend and receive payments onlinesecurely and cost effectively. Theprivate-equity firm Investcorp took a 51%stake in the business in 2007 when itbacked a €105m (£71.5m) buyout led byMoneybookers’ joint chief executives,Martin Ott and Nikolai Riesenkampff.Growth has come on the back ofinternational expansion, with specialfocus on continental Europe and a rolloutinto America. Profits grew 82% a year,from £5.7m in 2007 to £19m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat12 LIFEWAYS COMMUNITY CARECommunity care provider 76.83%

THIS company provides supported livingservices for 1,500 people with complexcare needs, including learning disabilitiesand autism. London-based LifewaysCommunity Care has offices throughoutBritain and care contracts withmorethan 60 local authorities and primary-care trusts. In 2007 August Equity backeda buyout for an undisclosed sum andinstalled Paul Marriner, a qualified nurse,as chief executive. Following a buy-and-build strategy, the company has acquiredfour businesses in the past two years andprofits have grown by 77% a year, from anannualised £2.2m in 2008 to £7m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat13 ACHILLES GROUPProcurement consultancy 74.00%

BASED in Oxfordshire, Achilles identifies,assesses andmonitors suppliers for bigorganisations worldwide that are lookingfor high-quality, ethically sourcedproducts. Procurement specialists frommore than 700 companies, includingShell, National Grid and Bovis, use itssystems to get information about thefinancial, environmental, health-and-safety, and social-responsibilitycredentials of their key suppliers.Hg Capital backed a £75m primary buyoutin June 2008, and profits have grown 74%a year, from £3.5m in 2008 to £10.6m in2010 under chief executive ColinMaund.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat14 QUANTUM PHARMACEUTICALPharmaceutical maker 73.98%

PHARMACIES, doctors and hospitalsneeding bespokemedicines for particularpatients, are supplied by QuantumPharmaceutical. The company offers a24-hour service from order to delivery tothe patient. The drugs aremade at its sitein Burnopfield, near Newcastle uponTyne, where 1,500 orders are processedeach day. The business was established in

2004 as Quantum Specials by four formermanagers of Eldon Laboratories, and fiveyears later the private-equity house LDC,part of Lloyds Banking Group, led abuyout from the founders. In Decemberthe business was renamed QuantumPharmaceutical. Under chairman SteveStocks, profits rose 74% a year, from £2.4min 2008 to £7.3m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat15 MARLIN FINANCIAL GROUPDebt purchaser 70.09%

IF you have not been able tomake yourmonthly credit-card repayment to yourhigh-street bank, Marlin Financial Groupmight buy that debt at a reduced priceand attempt to recover it. Founder andgroup chief executiveMartin Dunphy leda buyout of the business in 2006 from itsAmerican owner before Duke StreetCapital bought a 58% stake for anundisclosed sum in 2010. In 2009 theWest Sussex companywas included in aChannel 4 exposé of the credit industry,but an independent legal review found noevidence to support the assertionsmadein the programme. Profits rose by 70% ayear, from £2.3m in 2007 to £6.7m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat16 KELWAYIT services provider 67.25%

THIS London-based IT services providersells computer software and hardware, aswell as offering consultancy services ondata-centre setup, network design andtraining. Founded in 1990 by chiefexecutive Phil Doye at the age of 21, thecompany now hasmore than 2,000clients, includingMicrosoft, Bank ofAmerica and Oxford University Press. In2006 Core Capital invested £5m for a 25%stake, which has been used tomake fourkey acquisitions for its buy-and-buildstrategy. Profits have risen 67% a year,from £3m in 2008 to £8.4m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat17 RIXONWAYKitchen maker 67.21%

WORKING solely in Britain’s affordableand social housing sector, Rixonwaymakesmore than 12,000 kitchen units aweek at itsmanufacturing facility inWest Yorkshire. Over the past two yearsthe business has continued to recruit staffas it grows organically, and now employs400 people at its Dewsbury site, alongwith a nationwide team of 40 designers.The companywas founded in 1978, and inMay 2006 August Equity backed a buyoutfor an undisclosed sum led by Rixonway’schief executive, Paul Rose. Profits haverisen bymore than 67% a year, from£1.8m in 2008 to £5.1m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat18 CATH KIDSTONLifestyle retailer 66.56%

CATHKIDSTON set up her Notting Hillshop in 1993 selling antique furniture andfabrics. She became a hit with her largely

female clientèle when she designed ahomeware range. Distinctively decoratedwith floral prints, the items have tappedinto the “modern vintage” trend, and canbe seen on items from key rings to AppleiPhone covers. The company gainedfurther exposure when it appeared at theVintage at Goodwood Festival. Theprivate-equity firm TA Associates backedamajority buyout inMarch last year,which valued the company at £106m.Profits grew by nearly 67% a year, from£3.2m in 2008 to £8.8m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat19 NEXUS INDUSTRIESElectrical products supplier 66.28%

FOUNDEDmore than 40 years ago, NexusIndustries designs, manufactures anddistributes electrical products andwiringaccessories. Based in Telford, Shropshire,it is one of the largest independentelectrical-accessories businesses inBritain. In 2005, Epic Private Equitybacked amanagement buyout, investing£4.3m for a largeminority stake. Thecompany restructured its operationsthree years later and returned toprofitability as production facilities inChinawere greatly increased and keydomestic contracts were renegotiated.Led by chief executive JohnHornby, therestructuring and launch of new productshelped profits to rise 66% a year, from£1.5m in 2007 to £4.1m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat20 TANGERINE CONFECTIONERYConfectionery maker 65.14%

AWIDE RANGE of traditional sweets,including Barratt’s Sherbet Fountains andButterkist Popcorn, ismade by thiscompany. Tangerine Confectionery,whichwas created through three keyacquisitionswithin the UK during thepast three years, is headquartered inBlackpool and has seven production sitesemploying nearly 1,400 people. Thecompany claims to be the largest

independent sugar confectionerymanufacturer in Britain. ChairmanSteven Joseph led the buyout of TomsGruppen’s British operations from theDanish group five years ago for anundisclosed sum. Themovewas backedby Growth Capital Partners. Tangerinethen bought underperforming divisionsfrom Burton Foods and Cadbury, helpingprofits to grow 65% a year, from £4.8m in2007 to £13.1m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat21 WORLDMARKID systems developer 65.11%

WORLDMARK designs, makes andsupplies identification and brandingtechnology products such as intelligentbarcode labels and security tags to protectagainst counterfeiting and theft. It servesthe electronics, telecommunications,automotive,medical and consumer

markets. The group has its headquartersin Glasgow,manufacturing facilities inHungary, Mexico and China, and designcentres in America and Singapore. In2007 Barclays Private Equity bought thebusiness from Bridgepoint andHg Capitalfor an undisclosed amount. Under chiefexecutiveWilliam Graham, profits haverisen 65% a year, from £4.9m in 2007 to£13.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat22 UPPUniversity accommodation 63.20%

THIS London company finances, designs,builds andmanages studentaccommodation for universities aroundBritain. It also buys leases on existingbuildings, which it refurbishes beforerenting the rooms to students. Last yearUPP opened the first phase of one of itslargest projects — a £133m contract toprovide 2,000 new rooms for theUniversity of Exeter. In 2004 BarclaysPrivate Equity bought a 74% stake in thecompany from Jarvis for an undisclosedsum, and acquired the remaining sharesin 2008. Under chief executive SeanO’Shea, profits have risen 63% a year,from £15.6m in 2008 to £41.6m in 2010 onrising rental income.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat23 DCKJewellery retailer 60.56%

JEWELLERY fromDCK can be found inmore than 29 countries.Withmore than3,100 outlets, the company sells affordablefashion jewellery in Arcadia stores suchas Topshop,Miss Selfridge, DorothyPerkins and BHS, as well as in otherretailers, includingMatalan. In July lastyear Caird Capital purchased a 20% stakefrom Bank of Scotland, as part of a larger£480m acquisition of Bank of Scotlandprivate-equity investments. Under chiefexecutive Stephen Longdon, profits atthe Essex-based company have increasedby 61% a year, from £7.6m in 2008 to£19.6m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat24 INCHCAPE SHIPPINGMarine services provider 58.97%

FOUNDED in themiddle of the 19thcentury by two Scottishmerchantslooking to ferrymail around India andBurma, Inchcape Shipping Services nowhas 255 offices in 66 countries.Headquartered in Essex, the companyoffersmarine services such as piloting,docking, parts supply and cargo logisticsto customers in the oil, cruise, containerand commodity sectors. IstithmarWorldCapital, part of the troubled investorDubaiWorld, backed a £166m secondarybuyout in 2006 from Electra Partners. Ledby chief executive Claus Hyldager, profitshave risen 59% a year, from £16.4m in2007 to £41.5m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat25 AIM AVIATIONAircraft interior designer 58.41%

THE Bournemouth-based company AIMAviation, founded in 1926, providesaircraft interiors for both civil andmilitary use with customers includingEmirates and Korean Air. Among itsmore notable designs is the horseshoebar installed in the business-class sectionof Emirates Airlines’ A380 aircraft. InJune 2010 LDC, the regionalmid-marketprivate-equity house that is part of theLloyds Banking Group, backed amanagement buyout, investing anundisclosed sum. High demand for newfirst and premium-class cabin interiorshas helped to grow profits under thestewardship of Mark Edwards, the chiefexecutive, by 58% a year, from £5.3m in2008 to £13.3m in 2010.

Last year was a greatone for Aesica Phar-maceuticals. In Junethe Newcastle uponTyne company

secured a debt package to fundits acquisition of the medicalresearch-and-developmentfirm R5. The deal followed thepurchase of plants owned byMerck and Abbott, which,taken together, have helped tolift profits by 106% a year, froman annualised £3.5m in 2007 to£14.7m in 2009.The drugs manufacturer, at

No 3 on this year’s SundayTimes Deloitte Buyout Track100, has been pursuing a buy-and-build strategy since it wasbought out of the chemicalsgiant BASF in 2004 withbacking from LDC, the UKreg iona l mid -marke tprivate-equity house that ispart of Lloyds Banking Group.Looking ahead, the £20m

package of working capital,expenditure and acquisitionfacilities, arranged by Lloyds

Bank Corporate Markets, willhelp Aesica to take furtheradvantage of growing demandfor outsourced pharmaceuticalservices, according to the phar-maceutical company’s chiefexecutive, Robert Hardy.Lloyds Banking Group’s

commitment to building long-term relationships with out-standing firms such as Aesicalies at the heart of our ability tosupport promising venturesand their private-equitybackers through the downturnandbeyond.Ourdeterminationto understand our clients’ busi-nesses gives us a clear pictureof the associated risks andopportunities, and allows us tolend to themwith confidence.We provide debt to 26 firms

on this year’s league table,including the lifestyle retailerCath Kidston (No 18), which isbacked by TA Associates, andthe fast-expanding Japaneserestaurant chain Yo! Sushi(No 82), held by Quilvest.Many are companies thatwe

have supported formany years.For example, in 2005 webecame the first big bank touse the services of the credit-reference agency CallcreditInformation Group (No 62). Wewent on to provide debt whenthe firm was bought out fromSkipton building society byVitruvian Partners in 2009.But over the past 12 months

we have also forged strong newpartnerships with private-equity houses and their port-folio companies. As theeconomic outlook improves,weare encouragedby thepoten-tial returns on capital invested

in private equity comparedwith other asset classes.We arealso persuaded by the riskprofile of such deals, whereprivate-equity investors nowsupply as much as half of thecapital themselves.As a result, the acquisition

finance team within LloydsBank Corporate Marketsalmost quadrupled its lendingin 2010. We supplied £1.9 bil-lion of funding across 52 deals,making us Europe’s biggestacquisition-finance lender.For example, last March we

completed our first transactionwith Risk Capital Partnerswhen we provided a package ofdebt to support the manage-ment buyout of the car-repairbusiness DWS Bodyworks. Thecompany, at No 10 on theBuyout Track 100, fixes up to50,000 damaged vehicles eachyear for insurers, includingRSA, Axa and Zurich.We were pleased to back a

firm that has become a leaderin its market thanks to strongcustomer relations and effi-cient labour operations. DWSperformed well through thedownturn, helped by vehicle-accident rates that tend to stayconstant through the cycle.Profits rose 84% a year, from anannualised £1.2m in 2007 to£4.1m in 2009.We look forwardto supporting the company'splans to grow as it eyes acquisi-tions and adds newrepair sites.Lloyds Bank Corporate Mar-

kets also supported the firstdeal out of ECI Partners’ latestfund when we jointly arrangeddebt for its £78m secondarybuyout of XLN Telecom (No 6)from Zeus Private Equity lastSeptember.Profits at the company,

which supplies phone andbroadband service to small busi-nesses, rose 100% a year from£2.9m in 2008 to £11.6m in 2010,after the acquisition of OneBillTelecom in 2009, whichexpanded the customer base.We expect XLN to gain furthermarket share thanks to pro-prietary technology that ena-bles it to offer outstandingservice at attractive prices.Looking ahead, we expect

our lending to grow again in2011 as confidence across themid-market sector improves.We pledge to support our long-term clients and seek out-standing new managementteams as they recapitaliseexisting investments andpursue acquisitions.Grasping these opportuni-

ties will require a long-termtrust and understandingbetween debt providers,private-equity houses and theirportfolio companies, such asthose on the Buyout Track 100.We look forward to being partof their future success.nJon Herbert, head of theacquisition finance team at LloydsBank Corporate Markets, wastalking to Catherine Wheatley

Bridging the gap: Inchcape ShippingServices assists customers in thecontainer, oil and cruise sectors

Bank happy to feed hungryheroes of the middle market

WE AREENCOURAGED BYTHE POTENTIALRETURNS ONPRIVATE EQUITYCAPITAL COMPAREDWITH OTHERASSET CLASSES

4 BUYOUTTRACK100: Private equity backed firmswith the fastest growingprofits

Lots of lolly: Tangerine Confectionery chairman Steven Joseph has cause to smile

Fast food: Yo! Sushiprofits have been

rising 26% with thehelp of Lloyds Bank

’’

Rank Company Activity Profit, £m63 Wood Mackenzie Energy consultancy 48.579 Innovia Films Film manufacturer 45.652 Inexus Gas transporter †43.522 UPP University accommodation †41.624 Inchcape Shipping Marine services provider 41.541 Britax Childcare Child car-seat maker 36.257 Deb Group Skincare product maker 35.555 Survitec Group Safety equipment maker 34.896 Brighthouse Household goods retailer 34.148 Republic Fashion retailer 33.6† Accounts not filed at Companies House

COMPANIES WITH THE BIGGEST PROFITS

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat26 BOUNTYParenting club 56.69%

BOUNTY is an onlinemarketing andadvertising company providinginformation, products and services fornew and expectant mothers. TheHertfordshire business operates throughonlinemedia, directmarketing, productsampling and distribution contracts withmaternity hospitals. Started in the 1960s,the company says it now has exclusiveaccess to 95% of hospitals and is Britain’slargest parenting club withmore than 3mmembers. In June 2009 Barclays PrivateEquity backed amanagement buyout for£54m from the Canadian onlinemediacompany Kaboose. Undermanagingdirector Ian Beswetherick, profits haverisen 57% a year, from £3.4m in 2007 to£8.3m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat27 DATA EXPLORERSFinancial data provider 55.98%

DATA EXPLORERS provides financial datato institutions such as hedge funds,investment banks, media partners andmarket-data platforms includingBloomberg. It has offices in New York,Edinburgh, Hong Kong and London, andhelps clients to identify investment

opportunities andmanage risk. In April2007 Bowmark Capital backed a £58mbuyout, taking a 51% stake. Under chiefexecutive Donal Smith, profits havegrown 56% a year, from an annualised£2m in 2008 to £4.8m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat28 THOMPSON & MORGANGarden seed supplier 55.57%

LAUNCHED in the back garden of abaker’s in Ipswich in 1855, thisgarden-seed and plant company is nowone of the biggest in the country with acatalogue ofmore than 8,000 species. The

mail-order business supplies consumersin 144 countries and produces ownbrands for the Royal HorticulturalSociety, Kew Gardens and the EdenProject. Primary Capital backed a £17mprimary buyout from Thompson&Morgan’s American parent company,International Garden Products, in 2002.Under chief executive JohnMay, profitshave risen 56% a year, from £1.6m in 2008to £3.9m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat29 QUANTELBroadcasting technology 54.61%

THIS Berkshire company, founded in1973, supplies content-managementsoftware and hardware to televisioncompanies and film studios around theworld. Its products have been used onmovies such as Avatar andMade inDagenham, and the company claims thatmore than 100 broadcasters, includingESPN, rely on its technology. In 2000 theprivate-equity house LDC backed amanagement buyout from CarltonCommunications for an undisclosedamount and Quantel is now negotiating arestructuring deal. Under chief executiveRay Cross, profits have grown 55% a year,from £1.9m in 2007 to £4.5m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat30 GAMMA TELECOMTelecoms network operator 54.49%

BERKSHIRE-BASED Gamma Telecomprovides a variety of fixed-line telephoneand internet services to businesses bothlarge and small. This year the companyannounced that it had achievedmorethan 30,000 connections with its mobileand data services. In 2002 Kerry Group,Sofaer Capital andMarconimade a £7minvestment in Gamma Telecom,obtaining amajority stake. Under chiefexecutive Bob Falconer, profits havegrown 54% a year, from £2.7m in 2007 to£6.5m in 2009.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat31 COGNITASchools operator 54.40%

FORMER chief inspector of schools ChrisWoodhead founded Cognita in 2004 withbacking from Englefield Capital.Woodhead, now chairman, led amanagement team in a £57m acquisitionof 18 Asquith schools from LyceumCapital. TheMilton Keynes group nowcomprises 53 private junior schools andsenior schools in Britain, Spain, Thailandand Singapore, educating about 15,200pupils. Unlikemany independent schools,Cognita establishments are not run ascharities, and the company’s chiefexecutive, ReesWithers, has overseen anincrease in profits of 54% a year, from£11.2m in 2007 to £26.6m in 2009 as theportfolio has expanded.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat32 WIGGLEOnline sports goods retailer 52.90%

WIGGLEwas created in 1999 in the back ofa bike shop in Portsmouth. It originallysold cycling gear online, but it has sinceexpanded its range to include running,swimming and triathlon equipment,shipped to 88 countries. Isis EquityPartners acquired a 42% stake for £12m in2006, subsequently increasing this to a

48% shareholding. The company is led bychief executive Humphrey Cobbold andhas former Asda chief executive AndyBond on the board. Profits leapt 53% ayear, from £3.2m in 2008 to £7.4m in 2010,boosted by the boom in both cycling andonline retail.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat33 JHP GROUPTraining services provider 51.87%

JHP provides vocational education, skillstraining and employability programmes.Founded in 1983, it operates a nationalnetwork of 117 centres and also delivers

training in employees’ workplaces. TheCoventry business has more than 3,000clients, from small andmedium-sizedcompanies to large organisations such astheMinistry of Defence, RBS Insurance,RSA (formerly Royal and Sun Alliance) andBarclays. Under chief executive JimChambers, profits grew 52% a year, from£4.4m in 2008 to £10.2m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat34 THOMSONS ONLINE BENEFITSSoftware developer 50.45%

COMPANIES such as Royal Bank ofScotland and Cisco use the onlineemployee-benefits-management systemdeveloped by this London business toadminister and communicate staff-rewardschemes. In addition to pensions, benefitscan include healthcare, extra holiday,childcare vouchers or cycle-to-workschemes, and Thomsons says its systemcuts costs and helps with staff retention.Chief executiveMichaelWhitfield andmanaging director Chris Bruce foundedthe firm in 2000. In 2004 Pi Capital boughta 48% stake for £5m. Profits grew 50% ayear, from £1.5m in 2007 to £3.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat35 HOBBYCRAFT GROUPCraft goods retailer 48.97%

WITH 50 stores in Britain sellingmorethan 35,000 craft items, Hobbycraft is thefirst national arts and crafts retailer tocater formore than 250 different activitiesall under one roof. These include framing,tapestry, needlework and knitting. TheBournemouth-headquartered company,founded in 1995, was acquired byBridgepoint in amanagement buyout foran undisclosed sum in April last year,having boosted profits 49% a year underchairman Simon Burke, from £5.5m in2008 to £12.2m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat36 JACK WILLSFashion retailer 47.98%

TARGETING affluent university towns,JackWills now has 45 shops in Britain,Ireland and America. The company sellscasual, preppy clothes aimed at 18 to21-year-olds, as well as a range formoremature customers sold through its Aubin&Wills brand. It puts growth down to thequality of its clothes, geographicalexpansion andmarketing. The businesswas founded in 1999 by university friendsPeterWilliams and Rob Shaw, and in 2007Inflexion purchased a 27% stake for anundisclosed sum. Profits grew 48% a year,from £4.6m in 2008 to £10.2m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat37 ENGINE GROUPMarketing agency 47.98%

THISmarketing group consists of 10partner companies providing a range ofservices from directmarketing andsponsorship to social media and digitalmarketing. Engine works for 20 ofBritain’s top 100marketing spenders,including Coca-Cola, Sky and BMW. InOctober last year HIG Capital invested£32.5m in the London company, giving it a38% stake. Helped by a number ofacquisitions in 2007 and 2008, the groupsaw profits grow by 48% a year, from £6min 2007 to £13m in 2009. In October, led bychairman Peter Scott, the businessmadeits first acquisition overseas, buying theAmerican digital agency Deep Focus.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat38 FDM GROUPIT services provider 46.39%

ESTABLISHED in Brighton in 1990, FDM isan international IT services provider withsales offices in London,Manchester, New

York, Frankfurt, Zurich, Luxembourg andHong Kong. It servicesmore than 200blue-chip clients worldwide, including theBBC and BMW. The company trainsstudents at its own academy and says it isnow Britain’s largest IT graduateemployer. Inflexion Private Equity tookFDMprivate in a £33m deal in December2009. Under founder and chief executiveRod Flavell, profits have risen 46% a year,from £5.3m in 2008 to £11.3m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat39 OFFICEShoe retailer 45.00%

FROMUgg boots to kitten heels andConverse trainers, Office sells footwearfrom 74 shops and 42 concessions inBritain, as well as from a concession inTopshop’s New York outlet. The companyopened its doors in 1981, when husbandandwife David and Liz Casey furnishedtheir first London shopwith old officefurniture and named it Office London. TheCaseys sold the business to Sir TomHunter’sWest Coast Capital for £15m in2003, which led to a speeding up of storeopenings. Silverfleet Capital acquired thebusiness for a reported £140m inDecember last year. Under chief executiveBrianMcCluskey, profits have grown 45%a year, from £8.7m in 2008 to anannualised £18.4m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat40 TINOPOLISFilm and television producer 44.28%

TINOPOLIS is the production companybehind television favourites such asQuestion Time and Traffic Cops. It makesabout 2,500 hours of drama, factual, sportand children’s programmes a year formore than 200 broadcasters worldwide,including the BBC and Discovery. It alsooffers interactive trainingmaterials forclients such as theMinistry of Defence.TheWelsh company delisted in 2008 in a£45m deal backed by Vitruvian Partners.Profits have risen 44% a year, from £3.3min 2007 to £6.9m in 2009, undermanagingdirector Arwel Rees.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat41 BRITAX CHILDCAREChild car seat maker 44.14%

THIS firmmakes child-safety productsincluding car seats, bicycle seats, andpushchairs. Based in Surrey, the businessdistributes its products tomore than 40countries, and is a leading brand inmanyof these. It was divested from BritaxInternational and bought by CarlyleGroup for £230m in 2005, before NordicCapital backed a £450m secondary buyoutin November 2010. Under chief executiveKarl Kahofer, profits grew 44% a year,from £17.4m in 2007 to £36.2m in 2009.

Walkies: Office’s profits from footwear sales have stepped up 45% a year


STEPHANIESIANSMITH

Demand for Jack Wills’s stylish casual clothes has brought the firm a chain of 45 shops in Britain, Ireland and America

Tim Macready of Skillcapital saysthat refocusing on strategic andoperational improvement is drivinggrowth through the downturn

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat42 ATP INTERNATIONALBusiness travel agency 43.99%

ORGANISING corporate travel,conferences and events formore than1,600 customers, including the FootballAssociation, Caterpillar and Heineken, isthe business of ATP International. Thecompany increased its global footprint byacquiringmarine travel specialistsInstone International for £40m in 2009,and it now has a network of 45 offices in27 countries. The London-headquarteredgroup is led by chief executive GrahamRamsey. Barclays Private Equity backed a£73m secondary buyout from LDC in 2008.Profits climbed 44% a year, from anannualised £7.6m in 2007 to £15.7m in2009, helped by expansion into newmarkets overseas.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat43 ATTENDAIT services provider 43.67%

COMPANIES looking to cut overheads andreduce IT operational costsmay turn toAttenda to handle their technology needs.Thewest London company hostsapplications such as sales databases,messaging services and e-commercewebsites for organisations such as theNHS, BMI and Travelodge. A consortiumled byM/C Venture Partners and PhoenixEquity Partners backed a secondarybuyout in 2002, investing £9m for amajority stake. Profits have risen 44% ayear, from £2.7m in 2007 to £5.7m in 2009,under chief executiveMark Fowle.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat44 CPL INDUSTRIESSolid fuels supplier 40.74%

THIS Chesterfield business claims itsupplies smokeless coal tomore than athird of the British households that use it.It has recently developed an instant-lightcoal productmade from 30% renewablematerials. As part of a larger purchase ofits portfolio, Vision Capital bought outLegal & General’s 30% stake for anundisclosed amount in June 2005. Underchief executive TimothyMinett, profitshave grown 41% a year, from £10.4m in2008 to £20.6m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat45 MOUNTAIN WAREHOUSEOutdoor clothing retailer 40.39%

HIKERS, campers and skiers can buyown-label clothing and gear fromMountainWarehouse shops in outletvillages and tourist towns. ManagingdirectorMark Neale founded the businessin 1997 in London and, after more than 50store openings in the past two years, theretailer now has 120 outlets fromOrkneyto Penzance, as well as three stores inIreland and one near Vienna. LDC, theprivate-equity arm of Lloyds BankingGroup, acquired a significant holding inMountainWarehouse fromArev for anundisclosed amount in August 2010.Profits have grown 40% a year, from anannualised £4.6m in 2008 to £9m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat46 POUNDLANDDiscount retailer 40.02%

DISCOUNT retailer Poundland has almostdoubled its number of stores tomore than300 over the past three years. It plans toopen a further 50 by the end of nextmonth, and says that the scale of thebusiness is helping profit growth thanksto improved buying power. The companysellsmore than 3,000 products, includingfood, household goods and do-it-yourselfproducts, all of which are priced at £1. TheAmerican private-equity groupWarburgPincus backed a £200m secondary buyoutfromAdvent International inMay 2010.

Under chief executive JimMcCarthy,profits at theWestMidlands companygrew by 40% a year, from £15.3m in 2008to £30.1m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat47 ADELIE FOODFood producer/distributor 39.97%

PUT together in 2006 by private-equityinvestor Duke Street Capital, Adelie Foodconsists of five sister companies acquiredat a combined cost of £120m. TheMiltonKeynes company claims to be a leadingsupplier in the convenience-food sector,producing and distributing foods such asquiches, salads and sandwiches forsupermarkets, coffee shops, cafés andairlines. It has about 3,200 staff at ninemanufacturing and four distribution sitesin Britain. Profits have grown 40% a year,from £6.5m in 2007 to an annualised£12.8m in 2009 under chief executiveChris Thomas.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat48 REPUBLICFashion retailer 39.73%

IN 1986 two friends set up shop in a Leedsbasement, trading as Just Jeans. Asdemand for denim faded, they reinventedthe operation as an edgy streetwear chaincalled Republic, sellingwell-knownbrands including Diesel, Bench andG-Star. The business has now expanded to105 shops in Britain and Ireland, and inJune last year Texas Pacific Group backeda £300m tertiary buyout from ChangeCapital.With co-founders Carl Brewinsand TimWhitworth still leading the firm,profits have risen by 40% a year, from£17.2m in 2008 to £33.6m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat49 LGCAnalytical services laboratory 38.85%THIS international science-basedcompany says it is themarket leader inanalytical, forensic and diagnosticservices. LGCwas foundedmore than 150years ago as the Laboratory of theGovernment Chemist and was privatisedin 1996. Now, with 28 laboratories inEurope, India, China and America, LGCstill acts as government chemist, and alsoprovides a wide range of services for theprivate sector. Bridgepoint backed a£257m tertiary buyout from LGV Capital atthe beginning of 2010. Under chiefexecutive David Richardson, profits rose39% a year, from £10.8m in 2008 to £20.7min 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat50 A-GAS INTERNATIONALChemicals and gases 38.51%

BRISTOL-BASED A-Gas Internationalpacks, recycles and distributes a range ofgases and chemicals for the refrigerationand insulation-foam industries. Thecompany, which operates globally,focuses on producing environmentallyacceptable replacements for CFCchemicals. Close Growth Capital, nowGrowth Capital Partners, backed a £32msecondary buyout from 3i in February2007, taking a 40% stake. Under groupchairman John Rutley, profits havegrown 39% a year, from £5.4m in 2008 to£10.3m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat51 LAS IGUANASRestaurant operator 38.10%

WORKING as a product designer in 1991,Eren Ali was offered the chance to buy afailing restaurant from his landlady inBristol. He agreed and, partnered byschool friend Ajith Jaya-Wickrema,created the Las Iguanas brand ofrestaurants serving LatinAmerica-inspired food and drink. Thepopularity of the chain has led to thecompany expanding to 22 sites acrossBritain. Bowmark Capital backed a £27mbuyout in 2007, and since then profitshave risen 38% a year, from an annualised£2.1m in 2008 to £4m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat52 INEXUSGas transporter 38.08%

INEXUS operates andmaintains gas andelectricity networks across Britain andhas completed 500,000 utilityconnections to households since 1993. Itis the largest independent gas transporterin Britain and also provides electricityand telecommunications to its 1mcustomers. The Cardiff-headquarteredgroup, a former subsidiary of French oilgroup Total, was acquired by aconsortium led by the ChallengerInfrastructure Fund in a £465m deal in2005. Under chief executive Philip Gibb,profits have risen 38% a year, from £22.8min 2008 to £43.5m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat53 WELDEXCrane hirer 36.64%

BASED in Inverness, this crane-hire firmprovides equipment to constructioncompanies worldwide, as well as hiringout personnel such as crane operators andservice engineers. In June 2010Weldexwas acquired by Dunedin Capital Partnersin a £100m secondary buyout fromNVMPrivate Equity. Under founder andmanaging director DougieMcGilvray, andhelped by new revenue streams inonshore and offshore wind-farm projects,profits have risen 37% a year from £7.6min 2007 to £14.3m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat54 ULTIMATE PRODUCTSHomeware designer/sourcer 35.89%

MORE than 450 retailers, including Tesco,Marks & Spencer, Asda and Argos, useUltimate Products for sourcing anddesigning goods. Themerchandise issold under its customers’ brands or thecompany’s own, and Ultimate Products’management says that its operationscomplement its clients’ internationalsourcing operations. In 2005 LDC, theUK regionalmid-market private-equityhouse that is part of the Lloyds BankingGroup, invested £25m for a 46%shareholding in the business. TheManchester-based companywasco-founded by chief executive SimonShowman and his business partner BarryFranks in 1997. The pair oversaw profitgrowth of 36% a year, from £3.7m in 2008to £6.8m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat55 SURVITEC GROUPSafety equipment maker 35.32%

SURVITEC provides safety and survivalequipment to themarine, defence,aviation and oil-and-gas sectors. TheLondon and Belfast-based groupmakeslife rafts, lifejackets, submarine escapesuits, and anti-gravity and survivalsuits for a range of customers, includingP&O, BP, Thomson Airways, the USNavy and AgustaWestlandHelicopters.Warburg Pincus, the private-equity firm,backed a secondary buyout in January2010 for £280m, which should help tofund the company’s buy-and-buildstrategy. Survitec’s latest acquisition,SeaweatherMarine and AviationServices, which has operations inDartford, Kent, Southampton andLiverpool, was completed in September2010. Group profits grew by 35% a year,from £19m in 2008 to £34.8m in 2010under the stewardship of chief executiveDoug Baxter.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat56 NAT. FOSTERING AGENCYFoster care agency 35.00%

THISMiddlesex-headquartered businesssays it is Britain’s second-largestindependent fostering agency,recruiting, training andmonitoringcarers for 178 local authorities. Theagencywas founded in 1995 by formersocial workersMichael Lovett andEdwina Beech, and in 2006 SovereignCapital Partners bought half the businessfor an undisclosed sum. The NationalFostering Agency now has 13 offices andarranges foster care formore than 1,700children annually. Led by the chiefexecutive, Iain Anderson, profits haveclimbed by 35% a year, from £5.6m in 2008to £10.3m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat57 DEB GROUPSkincare product maker 34.43%

THE hands of employees all over theworld are cleaner thanks to the work ofDeb Group. Best known for its Swarfegahand cleanser, the business also suppliesa range of other skincare products tocompanies in the industrial, commercial,healthcare and food sectors. The firm,whichwas founded by ABWilliamson inDerbyshire in 1941 as Deb (short fordebutante) to sell products that helped topreserve the life of women’s silkstockings, now has operations in 21countries. Two years ago the companyopened a new, global headquarters inDenby. Charterhouse Capital Partnersbacked a £325m secondary buyout fromBarclays Private Equity inMarch 2010,taking an 80% stake. Under chiefexecutive Bryan Anderson, profits grewby 34% a year, from £19.7m in 2007to £35.5m in 2009.

With financialengineering afadingmemory,successful mid-market invest-

ments are more dependentthan ever on strong manage-ment to deliver returns.While cheap debt helped

create value for investors in theboomyearsof 2005 and2006, pri-vate-equity-owned companiessuch as those on the BuyoutTrack 100 are now focusingtheir efforts on strategic andoperational excellence to drivegrowth through more difficulttrading conditions.So while deal activity has

slowed since the bankingmelt-down — last year there wereonly 32 mid-market buyoutsvalued between £50m and£250m, against 70 in 2006,according to theCentre forMan-agement Buyout Research —the private-equity industry hasbeen working harder than everto steer portfolio firms throughthe crisis.As a result, more funds and

their portfolio companies areworking with executive searchfirms such as Skillcapital tobring in experienced execu-tives and non-executives totake their ventures forward. Ina recent poll of 50 Europeanportfolio companies conductedby SGV Advisers, almost two-thirds had changed or aug-mented their senior manage-ment during the downturn.Private-equity houses them-

selves are also recruiting in-houseprofessionalswithamix-tureof strategy consultingexpe-rience and proven operationalmanagement responsibility toguide their investmentstowards further growth.Acting swiftly to support in-

cumbent management canprove highly effective,according to Alan Hirzel, apartner in Bain & Co’s private-equity team. Firms thatappoint experienced board dir-ectors early in the investmentcycle will typically achievemore than double the returnsdelivered by non-activist inves-tors, research by the strategicconsultancy has found.The third annual report by

the British Private Equity andVenture Capital Association(BVCA) on the performance ofportfolio companies also sug-gests that experienced man-agers can steer firms towardssubstantial growth, accordingto BVCA chief executive SimonWalker. The research attributes70% of private equity’s overallreturns on exit to strategic andoperational improvement,

almost double that achieved bythe quoted sector.Many of the firms on this

year’s Buyout Track 100 havealready appointed experiencedexecutives to guide the incum-bent team towards even greatersuccess. For example, fashionretailer Jack Wills (No 36),backed by Inflexion PrivateEquity, worked with Skillcap-ital to bring in Peter Saunders,

BodyShop’s former chief execu-tive, as chairman to guide itsexpansion into America.Or take Wiggle, the online

sports retailer at No 32. WhenIsis Equity Partners acquired aminority stake in 2006, co-founders Harvey Jones andMitch Dall had built a suc-cessful business showingprofits of about £1.6m on an£11m turnover. Isis thenswiftly hired a non-executivechairman who worked withthe management team toestablishclear roles and respon-sibilities, according to IsispartnerMark Advani.More recently, the team has

appointed Trinity Mirror andCandover alumnus HumphreyCobbold as chief executive,allowing Jones to step backfrom his day-to-day manage-ment role. Cobbold, chargedwith developing Wiggle’s over-seas growth strategy, hasfocused on building an efficientsourcing-and-distributionoper-ation that delivers awide rangeof goods, attractive prices andexcellent shipment standards.Today, foreign sales account

for more than half of turnoverand Skillcapital recently helpedthe firm to appoint formerAsdachief executive Andy Bond as anon-executive director.By attracting management

talent, private equity plays animportant part in nurturingmid-market firms. Experi-enced executives can develop asuccession plan and secureinternational markets, asWiggle’s story shows. They canalso drive a step-change in thespeed or direction of growth.For example, formerDell execu-tive Simon Calver guided Love-film.com’s strategic change ofdirection into online moviesbefore clinching the company’ssale to Amazon lastmonth.Despite the legacy problems

created by some of the moreaggressively leveraged dealsduring the boom years, we arefinding that experiencedmanagers are still attractedby private equity’s bias towardsaction and a culture of valuecreation.During the downturn, pri-

vate-equity houses pursuedaggressive spending cuts attheir portfolio companies. Asthe economic cycle turns,many are showing that theyare willing to invest in exper-ienced senior managers andnon-executive directors to helpcompanies make the most ofthe global economic recovery.n Tim Macready, managingpartner at Skillcapital, was talkingto CatherineWheatley

Fire cracker: CPL Industries says itsupplies smokeless coal to a thirdof all UK households that use it

INVESTORS HAVEBEEN WORKINGHARDER THAN EVERTO STEER THEIRPORTFOLIO FIRMSTHROUGH THE CRISIS

Safe pair of hands: Humphrey Cobbold has built a highly efficient operation at Wiggle


Headquarters location of Buyout Track 100 companies

London27

Midlands

Northwest8

Northern Ireland1

Southwest

Scotland5

13

Wales

4

2

East6

Southeast21

Northeast13

’’

Strong management is keyfocus for private equity

PINDARGRAPHICS

Making light work: building services provider EIC refurbished the art decoHoover building in London and fitted the illuminations for the exterior

Sector breakdown ofthe Buyout Track 100

Consumer(including retail): 31%

Businessservices: 14%

Technology, media and telecoms: 14%

Manufacturing: 10% Life sciences,healthcare: 10%

Travel, hospitality,leisure: 7%

Financialservices: 5%

Property (includingconstruction): 5%

Energy, infrastructure,utilities: 4%

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat58 DC LEISURE MANAGEMENTLeisure facility operator 34.07%

THIS Surrey firmmanages and developsleisure facilities such as swimming poolsand gyms for local authorities. DC LeisureManagement was founded in 1991 andhas grown into one of the country’slargest operators, working for 31 councils,managing 110 leisure centres andemploying 6,500 people. It also buildsnew facilities and has just completed a£35m private finance initiative (PFI)contract with Rotherham council for fournew sites. Sovereign Capital backed a£14m primary buyout fromOCS Group in2003. Under chief executive StevePhilpott, profits grew 34% a year, from£7.6m in 2008 to £13.6m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat59 APEX CREDIT MANAGEMENTDebt purchaser 33.90%

ESTABLISHED in 2000, thisWarwickshirecompany specialises in providingoutsourced debt collection, tracing absentdebtors, and recovering portfolios of debtbought from financial institutions. Itworks with banks such as RBS and LloydsBanking Group, as well as leadingcredit-card andmotor-finance houses. In2007, AnaCap Financial Partners backed abuy-inmanagement buyout for anundisclosed sum fromcredit-management company BCW,appointing Neil Clyne as chief executive.Profits have grown 34% a year, from £2min 2007 to £3.6m in 2009, driven byinvestment in technology.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat60 GRIFFIN MARINE TRAVELMarine travel agency 33.11%

PROVIDING transport services to themarine, offshore and cruise industries isthis company’s business. One of itsmainactivities is organising plane tickets formerchant seamen travelling to and fromvessels all over the world. Founded in 1977,the London firm now employsmore than500 people to ensure critical connectionsaremet. Profits have been boosted by itssuccessful operations in Asia, and inDecember 2009 the private- equity houseInflexion backed amanagement buyoutfor an undisclosed sum, taking a 25%stake. Under chief executive GeorgeBoyes, profits have risen 33% a year, from£7.2m in 2007 to £12.7m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat61 ADAPTManaged services provider 32.94%

LONDON-BASED Adapt, led by chiefexecutive Peter Knight, providesmanaged IT services and outsourceddata-centre services tomore than 800customers, including Cheapflights andLovefilm.com. Alcuin Capital Partnersand other institutional investors backed a£7.5mmanagement buyout fromMargolis Group in August 2006, taking a25% stake. Since then, the company hasembarked on a process of expansion,startingwith the acquisition ofnetwork-services provider CentricTelecom for £6.25m fromAlchemy in July2007. Profits have grown 33% a year from£1.8m in 2008 to £3.1m in 2010.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat62 CALLCREDIT INFORMATIONBusiness risk evaluator 31.75%

THIS Leeds business providescredit-checking, identity- verificationand debt-collection services. It has alsoexpanded into the development ofmarketing databases, market analysisand customer handling for clients thatrange from financial-services companiesto charities. Callcredit Information Group

was part of Skipton building society until2009, when Vitruvian Partners bought amajority stake in the business for anundisclosed sum. Under chief executiveJohnMcAndrew, profits grew 32% a year,from £6.8m in 2007 to £11.7m in 2009,boosted by investment in ITinfrastructure.

PlantHirer 114.24%


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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat63 WOOD MACKENZIEEnergy research consultancy 31.42%

THE oil, gas, coal, metals, andminingindustries use this Edinburgh company toprovide consulting services andmarketresearch. Formed in 1973, its researchproducts include reports, trends analysesand forecasts. Clients include Shell andBP and it has offices in North and SouthAmerica, Asia, Australia and theMiddleEast. In June 2009 Charterhouse backed a£553m tertiary buyout from Candover,initially taking a 67% stake. Under theleadership of chief executive StephenHalliday, profits have risen 31% a year,from £28.1m in 2007 to £48.5m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat64 MANDMDIRECT.COMOnline discount retailer 30.29%

THIS company is an online retailer ofdiscounted lifestyle, fashion and sportsapparel and footwear.Herefordshire-basedMandMDirect.combuys end-of-line products from leadingclothing brands, including Adidas,Bench, Superdry, Henleys, Timberland,Diesel and Puma. It then offers them at adiscount of up to 75% to its 1.3mcustomers. In 2007 TA Associates backed areported £90m secondary buyout of thebusiness from its founders and theprivate-equity group ECI, and installedSteve Robinson as chief executive. Profitsrose 30% a year, from £8.4m in 2008 to£14.3m in 2010, boosted by expansion intocontinental Europe.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat65 EICBuilding services provider 30.11%

EIC providesmechanical and electricalbuilding services to household namessuch as Debenhams, Asda and Bupa, aswell as to schools and the NHS. TheWestMidlands company’s recent winsinclude a contract to provide electricalmaintenance for Tesco stores in thenorth of England and Scotland. MMLCapital Partners bought out the foundingfamilies in 2008 for £40m, although thefounders’ sons, Ian Lyall and Nigel LeMarechal, still run the company. Profitsrose by 30% a year, from £4.6m in 2007 to£7.8m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat66 FMG SUPPORTFleet management services 29.93%

ROYALMAIL, DHL and the HighwaysAgency use this company’s services tokeep their fleets of cars, vans and truckson the road and reduce fleet runningcosts. Huddersfield-based FMG Supportprovides its customers with outsourcedmanagement of breakdown assistance,accident recovery and repair, and thehandling of insurance claims. Chairmanand chief executive Nick Brown led a£19m primarymanagement buyout in2008 backed by Spirit Capital Partners.Profits have increased 30% a year, from£2.6m in 2007 to £4.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat67 FROZEN VALUEValue food retailer 29.78%

FROZENVALUE, which trades as JackFulton, has been a value frozen-foodretailer formore than 50 years. Its 91

shops are found in high streets, shoppingcentres and out-of-town retail parksthroughout Yorkshire, Lancashire,Nottinghamshire and Humberside. Thebusiness offers premium-branded frozenfood as well as branded dry grocery andchilled goods plus highly discountedone-off products. Managing directorKevin Gunter led an £11mmanagementbuyout from founder Jack Fulton in a dealbacked by 3i in 1997. Profits at theWestYorkshire firm grew 30% a year, from£1.8m in 2008 to £3.1m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat68 LEADERS LETTINGSResidential letting agent 29.73%

BENEFITING from the buoyant lettingsmarket,Worthing-based Leaders Lettingshas bought and integratedmore than 30businesses, branches or tenancy portfoliossince 2005, and nowhas 46 offices in thesouth of England, letting 10,000 propertiesa year. It also offers property-managementservices. PaulWeller, managing director,

led a £48m buyout from property investorRO Trading inMarch 2010 backed byBowmark Capital. Profits have grown 30%a year, from £2.5m in 2008 to £4.1m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat69 CASTLECAREYouth care homes operator 29.64%

CASTLECARE is a provider of education,residential care and treatment

programmes for children

and young people. The company, based inNorthamptonshire, runsmore than 40homes and schools in England andWalesfor children with social, behavioural orspecial needs. Baird Capital Partnersbacked a £22mmanagement buyout in2004. The business bought a competitor,Sovereign Care, the following year for anundisclosed amount.With chairmanDavid Barrass at the helm, the company’sprofits have increased by 30% a year, from£2m in 2007 to £3.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat70 ROSEMONT PHARMA.Liquid pharmaceuticals 29.45%

LIQUIDmedicines for people unable toswallow tablets are developed byRosemont Pharmaceuticals. The Leedscompanywas founded in 1967 and hasmanufacturedmore than 120 liquidversions of solid drugs, supplying them tohospitals, pharmacists and patientsacross Britain. Themedicines can be usedto treat a range of conditions, includingheart disease and cancer. Led bymanaging director John Blythe, thebusiness was bought from SavientPharmaceuticals in 2006 in a £94mbuyout backed by Close Brothers PrivateEquity. Driven by the launch of newproducts, profits have increased 29% ayear, from £10.7m in 2007 to £18m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat71 THE ORIGINAL FACTORY SHOPDiscount retailer 29.19%

IN pursuit of bargains, thrifty shoppersare continuing to flock to the 160 storesacross Britain now owned by The OriginalFactory Shop. Based in Burnley,Lancashire, the company sells heavilydiscounted brandedmerchandise,including fashion items, electricals, toysand toiletries, and has plans to openanother 400 outlets in the next five years.The business employsmore than 2,000people and targets towns withpopulations of fewer than 20,000. It wasset up in 1969, and Duke Street Capitalbacked a £68.5m secondary buyout fromBarclays Private Equity in 2007. Overseenby chief executive Angela Spindler,profits have grown 29% a year, from£8.9m in 2008 to £14.9m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat72 CASTLEBECKSpecialist healthcare 28.76%

CASTLEBECK provides specialisthealthcare and rehabilitation services foradults and adolescents with learning orbehavioural difficulties at 27 independenthospitals and residential homes inBritain. The Darlington-based company,founded in 1987, hasmoved into newservices, including foster placement andautism care, under chief executive JonMann, and employs 2,000 people. LydianCapital Partners, the private-equity firmbacked by Irish tycoons JPMcManus,JohnMagnier and Dermot Desmond, leda £255m tertiary buyout in 2006. Profitshave risen 29% a year, from an annualised£18.9m in 2007 to £31.3m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat73 ZENITH PROVECTAVehicle leasing services 28.63%

THIS is one of Britain’s biggestindependent vehicle-leasing and fleet-management businesses. Founded in1989 and headquartered in Leeds, Zenithmanagesmore than 27,000 vehicles for itscorporate clients. After several years ofstrong organic growth, the business, thenknown as Zenith Vehicle Contracts,completed its first acquisition in 2008when it bought rival company Provectafor an undisclosed sum and named themerged entity Zenith Provecta. MorganStanley backed the fourth buyout ofZenith from Barclays Private Equity inAugust 2010, taking a 60% stake in thebusiness for £85m. Under executivechairman Andrew Cope, profits haverisen 29% a year, from an annualised£5.4m in 2008 to £8.9m in 2010.


Original Factory Shop chief executive Angela Spindler plans 400 more outlets

Owners need to review financialstrategies after big changes in theeconomy, markets and tax regimes,says Michael Bishop of UBS

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat74 WIRELESS INFRASTRUCTUREWireless tower operator 28.18%

THISMotherwell-based companyoperates shared telecommunicationsinfrastructure on towers and rooftopsacross Britain used for transmittingmobile-phone and broadband signals.Wireless Infrastructure Group buys therights to land or sets up income-sharingdeals with landowners to put up telecomstowers. It says its portfolio of more than1,000 sitesmakes it the second-largestcompany of its kind in Britain. Profitshave risen 28% a year, from £6.6m in 2007to £10.8m in 2009, under the leadership ofchief executive Scott Coates.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat75 DUNLOP AIRCRAFT TYRESAircraft tyre maker 27.69%

CELEBRATING its centenary in 2010, thiscompany designs andmakes 70,000 tyresa year for commercial andmilitaryaircraft, from the Boeing 747 to theEurofighter Typhoon. Its customersinclude British Airways, BMI andLufthansa, as well as aircraftconstructors andwheel and brakemanufacturers. The Birminghambusiness retreads a further 25,000 tyres ayear and opened a retread facility inChina in 2009. Chairman Ian Edmondsonled a £40m secondary buyout from 3i in2007, backed by AAC Capital Partners.Profits have increased by 28% a year, from£4.5m in 2007 to £7.3m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat76 NAT. ACCIDENT HELPLINELegal services marketing 26.92%

EXTENSIVE television and internetadvertising is used by National AccidentHelpline to find people wishing tomakepersonal-injury claims. After screeningby the company’s legal team, inquiriesare passed to solicitors who pay a referralfee to the company, which is based atKettering in Northamptonshire. Thebusiness was founded in 1993 by AlanKennedy. LDC, the UK regionalmid-market private-equity house that ispart of the Lloyds Banking Group, backeda primary buyout in 2006 and arestructuring in 2009, providing a partialexit for retiring directors. LDCsubsequently sold half its stake toInflexion Private Equity in 2009 for anundisclosed amount. Profits rose 27% ayear, from £5.6m in 2007 to £9m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat77 CIVICAIT services provider 26.90%

FROM its London headquarters Civicaprovides software, IT services andspecialist outsourcing tomore than 1,800organisations across Britain, America,Australia and New Zealand. The businesssupplies systems for customer contact,casemanagement and administration inlocal government, education, socialhousing and healthcare. Civica says itscustomers include 90% of localauthorities in Britain. The company alsoprovides integrated systems for teachingand learning for schools and colleges.Chief executive Simon Downing led apublic-to-private buyout inMay 2008 thatwas backed by 3i and valued the businessat £237m. Profits have risen 27% a year,from £17.8m in 2008 to £28.7m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat78 ARTHOUSEHome decoration supplier 26.80%

ARTHOUSE sells a range of home-decoration products throughmore than2,000 retailers nationwide, includingleading do-it-yourself stores such as B&QandHomebase. Profit growth at the

Lancashire company has been boosted byadding ceramic tiles and coving to itsproduct range, as well as the carefulmanagement of costs. Managing directorAnita Kenyon led a primary buyout in2007 with the backing of Total CapitalPartners, which took a 43% stake in thebusiness for an undisclosed sum. Profitshave risen 27% a year, from £2.2m in 2007to £3.6m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat79 INNOVIA FILMSFilm manufacturer 26.75%

THIS companymanufactures the filmsused as labels andwrapping on food,sweets, cigarettes, toiletries andbeverages. The films aremade fromplastic or cellulose and theCumbrian-headquartered company has arapidly developing business inbiodegradable wrapping. The group sellsto customers inmore than 100 countriesand has production facilities on threecontinents. The companywas founded in2004 when the chairman, DennisMatthewman, led the £215m acquisitionof the business fromUCB Films backedby Candover Partners. Profits haveincreased by 27% a year, from £28.4m in2007 to £45.6m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat80 I2Software developer 26.62%

ACCORDING to chief executive RobertGriffin, i2’s software helped to findSaddamHussein’s hideout bymappingconnections between people in his circle.The Cambridge-headquartered companyproduces predictive and investigativeanalysis software for defence, nationalsecurity, law-enforcement andcommercial security uses. More than4,500 organisations in 100 countries usei2 products to visualise hiddenconnections and so deter and preventcriminal and terrorist threats. TheAmerican technology investor Silver LakeSumeru backed the £94m buyout of i2from Choicepoint Services in 2008.Profits rose by 27% a year, from £8m in2007 to £12.8m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat81 TEACHING PERSONNELSupply teacher recruiter 26.37%

TEACHING PERSONNEL suppliestemporary staff to 4,000 primary,secondary and special-needs schools inEngland andWales. Based inWelwynGarden City, Hertfordshire, the firmwasfounded in 1996 and nowhas 32 regionalbranches. The business provides supplyteachers to state and independent schoolsand also recruits teaching assistants,nursery nurses and special-needsteachers for both short and long-termpositions. Graphite Capital backed the£45m tertiary buyout from RJD Partnersin July 2010. Profits have grown 26% ayear, from £3.6m in 2007 to £5.7m in 2009undermanaging director John Bowman.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat82 YO! SUSHIJapanese restaurant chain 25.92%

SINCE 1997, diners at Yo! Sushi have beentreating themselves to Japanese-inspiredfood delivered directly to their seats byconveyor belt. The chain of 66 restaurantsstretches across Britain and can also befound inMoscow, Dublin, Dubai, Bahrainand Kuwait, serving 4m customers a yearwith plates of sushi, sashimi and hotdishes. Chief executive Robin Rowlandhas plans to expand to 100 restaurantsworldwide by 2012. He led a £51msecondary buyout backed by QuilvestPrivate Equity inMarch 2008. Theopening of new restaurants in Britain andabroad has boosted profits 26% a year,from £4m in 2007 to £6.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat83 DREAMSBed retailer 25.48%

PROVIDING customers with a greatnight’s sleep is the aim of this HighWycombe company, whichmakes andretails beds, mattresses and bedroomfurniture. Celebrating 25 years in businessthis year, the business now sells a rangeofmore than 150 beds andmattressesfrom 260 superstores nationwide. InMarch 2008 Exponent Private Equity

backed amanagement buyout thought tobe in the region of £200m. Under chiefexecutive NickWorthington, profits havegrown 25% a year, from £16m in 2007 to£25.1m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat84 99p STORESDiscount retailer 25.31%

NADIR LALANI opened the first of his99p Stores in London in 2001, and thebusiness now operates 139 outletsnationwide after picking up 67 formerWoolworth shops to date. True to itsname, the single-price retailer sellseverything at 99p, although the companyrecently launched Family Bargains, a newbudget retail chain not constrained by the99p price tag. Barclays Ventures owns alargeminority stake aftermaking

investments in the business in 2004 and2006. Profits have increased 25% a year,from £2.9m in 2008 to £4.5m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat85 MICROLEASEElectronic equipment 25.26%

MICROLEASE says it is Europe’s leadingsupplier of electronicmeasuring andtesting equipment to the defence,telecommunications and aerospacemarkets. Clients include Alcatel-Lucent,Ciena, Thales, EADS and Huawei. TheMiddlesex firm rents, sells, buys back andservices equipment. Chief executive NigelBrown led a £30m primary buyout in2006, backed by LDC, the UK regionalmid-market private-equity house that ispart of the Lloyds Banking Group, whichinjected a further £8m in 2009, when the

company bought a rival’s European arm.Profits have risen by 25% a year, from£8.6m in 2008 to £13.5m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat86 ANDREW PAGEVehicle parts distributor 25.24%

THIS firm claims to be one of the largestindependent distributors of car parts andworkshop tools in Britain. Andrew Pagesays the recession has helped salesbecausemore people are repairing theircars rather than buying new ones.Founded in Leeds in 1946, the companyhas expanded tomore than 50 branches.The founder’s family retains a large stakeand Andrew Page himself remains on theboard. Phoenix Equity Partners backed a£102m buyout inMarch 2010, taking amajority stake. Undermanaging directorMark Roberts, profits grew 25% a year,from £8.3m in 2008 to £13m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat87 TOBAR GROUPToy and gift retailer 25.00%

OFFERING unusual toys and gifts since1973 through retail, mail order and online,this Suffolk firm also supplies independentretailers, tourist centres and departmentstores. Incorporating several brands,includingHawkin’s Bazaar, Letterbox andStocking Fillers, the Tobar Group operates120 shops around Britain and suppliestrade customers in 26 other Europeancountries. Primary Capital backed the£42mmanagement buyout for a 50% stakein September 2006.With 10 new storesopened in 2010, profits have risen by 25% ayear, from £2.1m in 2008 to £3.3m in 2010,under chief executive Toby Templer.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat88 OYSTER MARINEYacht builder 24.92%

OYSTERMARINE has been buildingluxury sailing yachts since 1973 and hasweathered the recent economic stormthanks to its reputation for combiningcomfort and performance. Its fleet rangesfrom an agile 46ft yacht to the new Oyster125 superyacht. In 2008 Balmoral Capitalbought 99% of the Ipswich-headquarteredbusiness for £70m, and chief executiveDavid Tydeman replaced RichardMatthews, who had been at the helmsince founding the companywith AlanBrook in 1973. Profits increased 25% a year,from £4.8m in 2007 to £7.4m in 2009.

As the economiccycle turns, entre-preneurs are re-viewing theirwealth-manage-

ment strategies to reflectimproving capital markets,changing tax regimes andfluctuating inflation, interestand exchange rates.After many difficult months

business owners are wel-coming the opportunities thatflow from renewed activity inthe private-equity market.They are seizing the chance torecapitalise or realise wealth bydiluting their holdings orselling stakes in their ventures.Some seek new capital for

the next growth cycle of theirbusiness, while others want tobring fresh funds into firmsbur-dened by heavy debt repay-ments and tough trading condi-tions. Many are planning torelease some of thewealth theyhave created either tomaintainor improve their lifestyles. Atsome point business ownersfind themselves reflecting onhow to manage their personalwealth in a changing globaleconomy.Bank debt remains the most

obvious option for entrepre-neurs seeking to recapitalise

their business. But in an envi-ronment where lendingremains relatively scarce, morebusiness owners are turning toprivate equity, where there hasbeen a rise in activity, drivenbymore realistic valuations andsheer weight of demand.Indeed, there has been a

sharp rise in private-equitydeal-making among this year’sSunday Times Deloitte BuyoutTrack 100 companies. Some 27firms, ranging from Aim Avia-tion (No 25) to Zenith Provecta(No 73), secured private-equitybacking in 2010, while only 10ventures on the previous year’sleague table did so in 2009.For example, lastMarchCath

Kidston,whosehomeware com-pany is at No 18, sold a 60%stake in her business to the USprivate-equity firm TA Associ-ates, in a deal that valued thefirm at a reported £100m. Thedeal brought fresh capital tofund expansion across the UKand the Far East. But it alsoreleased wealth for share-holders and for Kidston herself,who continues to be heavilyinvolved in the company.Mark Neale’s outdoor retail

business, Mountain Ware-house, at No 45, raised furtherexpansion capital, and pro-

vided an exit for private-equitybacker KCAJ, when it sold aminority shareholding to LDC,the private-equity house that ispart of Lloyds Banking Group,last September in a transactionthat valued the business atmore than £50m. Neale and hismanagement will use the addi-tional funding to open newstores and roll out a premiumclothing range.But entrepreneurs are also

taking into account recentchanges to the British tax envi-

ronment as they weigh up apartial sale of their business.Chancellor George Osborne’s

decision to increase entrepre-neurs’ relief to encourage early-stage investment has turnedattention towards disposals. InJune’s emergency budget,Osborne extended the 10%capital-gains-tax rate to coverthe first £5m of share disposals,up from £2m. Compared withthe present CGT rate of 28%, thisrelief is therefore worth up to£900,000 ormore if an entrepre-neur’s spouse is actively in-volved in the business. The con-trast with a rise in the top rateof income tax from 40% to 50%is further encouraging found-ers to pursue sensible, long-term financial planning.Of course, it is vital for entre-

preneurs such as Kidston andNeale to review their wealth-management strategies regu-

larly, particularly in times ofeconomic upheaval.UBS Wealth Management

works with clients to createplans that address the key ques-tions, including financial-risktolerance, indebtedness, cash re-quirements, tax and successionplanning—even philanthropy.Business owners who plan to

head for the exit in the comingmonths should also considerlonger-term market trends.UBS expects that British bankinterest rates will remain low,rising to 1% by the end of thisyear. However, we expect infla-tion to reach 2.7%, runningahead of other developednations. So investors who areearning less than 1% interest ontheir cash and then paying taxof up to 50% on that interest —in an inflationary environment— are losing real value over theyear. Many of our clients aretherefore asking us to buildinflation-proofing strategies.Meanwhile, we predict that

sterlingwill strengthen againstboth the dollar and the euroover the next 12 months, withmost relevance for those inves-tors who have overseas assets.As 2011 unfolds we expect to

see a sustained upturn in dealactivity. Accordingly, somestakeholders in this year’sBuyout Track 100 companieswill seize the opportunity tomake an exit. When the timecomes, founders ought tomakesure their long-term wealthstrategy is up to date.nMichael Bishop, head of privatewealth management at UBS inLondon was talking to CatherineWheatley

ROSSWOODHALL


TIMWRIGHT

Positive signals:Wireless InfrastructureGroup’s profits haverisen 28% a year

Plenty to smile about: Cath Kidston sold 60% of her homeware company to a US investor Snowballing: Mountain Warehouse has cash to expand

Time to bring your wealth planning up to date

Staying afloat: Oyster Marine’s reputation has helped the firm to weather the economic storm and boost profits by 25% a year to £7.4m

THE fifth annual Buyout Track 100league table and networking-eventsprogramme is produced by Fast Track,Britain’s leading networking companythat focuses on top performing privatecompanies and entrepreneurs.Fast Track researches and publishes

seven annual league tableswith TheSunday Times, ranking thefastest-growing to the biggest privatecompanies. It runs invitation-onlyevents and dinners for their owners

and directors to network andmeet oursponsors. It is run byDr HamishStevenson, who has an associatefellowship at Green TempletonCollege, Oxford University. The BuyoutTrack 100 researchwasmanaged bySteveBeever.Fast Track’s sole source of revenue

is from sponsors.Wewould thereforelike to thankDeloitte for its titlesponsorship for a fifth year, aswell asourmain sponsors Lloyds Bank

CorporateMarkets, Skillcapital andUBSWealthManagement.Nominations for next year’s Buyout

Track 100 can bemade through ourwebsitewww.fasttrack.co.uk or sent toFast Track at:

Angel Court, 81 St Clements,Oxford, OX4 1AW

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

The Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat89 HOTTER COMFORT CONCEPTFootwear retailer 24.88%

PUTTING comfort first is themantra ofthis Lancashire-basedmanufacturer ofmen andwomen’s footwear. Since thecompanywas founded in 1959, it hasdiversified its operations frommakingslippers, to producing stylish shoes withcomfort built in. The company says itmakesmore shoes per year than anyother shoemaker in the UK and hasrecently launched a line of footwear thatis available in extra-wide sizes. InDecember 2007 Gresham Private Equitybacked a £21m primary buyout to acquirea 45% stake. Under chief executiveStewart Houlgrave, profits have grownby 25% a year, from £5.7m in 2008 to£8.8m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat90 M&C ENERGY GROUPEnergy consultancy 24.77%

THE procurement and compliance-services providerM&C Energy Group hasbeen involvedwith the utilities marketformore than 30 years and now operatesin 13 countries across Europe, Asia andAmerica. Headquartered in Scotland, thecompany buys in excess of £4 billionworth of gas and electricity a year for its3,500 customers, helping to reduce theirenergy expenditure andmanage theirenvironmental performance. LyceumCapital acquiredM&C for £22m inDecember 2009. Under chairman GeraldHiggins, profits have grown 25% a year,from £2.5m in 2008 to £3.9m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat91 DANWOOD GROUPOffice equipment supplier 24.69%

DANWOODGROUP supplies officeprinting equipment, such as scanners,printers and copiers, and says that it haseither installed, or ismanaging, morethan 90,000 office printingmachines inBritain and Ireland. The Lincoln-basedcompany, whichwas founded in 1971,has grown through a series ofacquisitions. In the past two years it hasbought the printer-and-copier division ofAdmiral Group, Cardiff-based Algebraand Photostatic of Bridgend. BregalCapital backed a primary buyout from thecompany’s founder, Colin Daniels, for£130m inMay 2008, taking a 30% stake,followed by a further 10% in September2010. Profits have risen 25% a year, from£11.2m in 2007 to £17.4m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat92 HEALTHCARE HOMESCare provider 24.58%

THIS Colchester-based company, whichis led by Richard Clough, Graham Lomerand David Bates, runs nursing andresidential homes for the elderly and

people with physical disabilities.Healthcare Homes has followed abuy-and-build strategy for a number ofyears, and now has 23 homes and two daycentres, spread across Norfolk, Suffolk,Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. Thecompany also cares for people in theirown homes through itsManorcourtHomecare operation. Bowmark Capitalbacked a £75m secondary buyout fromAugust Equity in 2008. Profits haveincreased by 25% a year, from £3.7m in2007 to £5.8m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat93 ANGLIAN GROUPHome improvement products 24.55%

ANGLIAN provides a range of products forthe home, from double-glazedwindowsto guttering and conservatories. TheNorwich-based group sells to the buildingtrade and local councils, as well as directto homeowners. It also operates aseparate wood-flooring business, and hasa financial-services operation offeringhome-improvement loans. Alchemydelisted the company from the stockmarket in 2001 for a reported £162m, andin 2008 it was taken over by a consortiumof banks after a financial restructuring.Under chief executive Peter Mottershead,profits have grown 25% a year, from£9.5m in 2008 to £14.7m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat94 AZZURRI COMMUNICATIONSTelecoms services provider 24.33%

THIS telecoms service provider deliversvoice, data andmobile communications.Walsall-based Azzurri Communicationshas shown a rapid rate of growth sinceits inception in 2000, havingmade 16acquisitions. The company says itservices a quarter of the FTSE companiesand has customers, including AllianceBoots, STA Travel and Visa, in 130countries. Silverfleet Capital bought thecompany from 3i for a reported £182.5min June 2006 and profits have increasedby 24% a year, from £9.3m in 2008 to£14.5m in 2010. The company is led bychief executiveMark Quartermaine, whojoined last autumn.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat95 TUFFNELLS PARCELS EXPRESSExpress parcel courier 23.81%

HAROLD TUFFNELL founded thisSheffield company in 1914, offering ahorse-drawn delivery service to hisYorkshire customers. These days,Tuffnells Parcels Express says it deliverstens ofmillions of packages worldwideeach year and runs a fleet of more than650 vehicles, known as “Big Green ParcelMachines”, from 25 depots nationwide.Bank of Scotland Corporate backed a £33msecondary buyout from 3i and PhildrewVentures in 2005 and sold itsshareholding to Caird Capital in July 2010

as part of a larger £480m disposal of Bankof Scotland private-equity investments.The company’s profits have gone up by24% a year, from an annualised £7.4m in2008 to £11.4m in 2010 under chiefexecutive Lloyd Dunn.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat96 BRIGHTHOUSEHousehold goods retailer 22.07%

WATFORD-BASED Brighthouse beganlife as a television-hire business buttoday claims to be the largest rent-to-ownretail chain in Britain withmore than200 stores across the country. It providescredit to customers purchasinghousehold products such as domesticappliances, electronics and furniture, andalso offers service cover and insurance.In July 2007 Vision Capital led a £170msecondary buyout from Terra Firma. Sincethen, Brighthouse has openedmore than50 stores and, overseen by the chiefexecutive, LeoMcKee, profits haveincreased by 22% a year, from £22.9m in2008 to £34.1m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat97 APOGEE CORPORATIONDocument handling services 21.38%

APOGEE provides document-management services and officemachinery such as printers and copiers.

Its product packages include digitaldocument devices, software, workflowand telecoms& IT Infrastructure.Founded in 1993, the London-basedcompany counts the likes of McDonald’sand TUI Travel among its customers.Profit growth has been driven bycross-sellingmore services with highermargins to existing clients. LMS Capitalacquired a 29% stake in the business inMarch 2010 for £7.9m, with the intentionof providing further capital for futureacquisitions. Under co-founders JasonCollins and Barry Ferdinand, Apogee’sprofits grew by 21% a year, from £4.2m in2007 to £6.1m in 2009.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat98 TJ HUGHESDepartment store operator 21.38%

FOUNDED in 1912 in Liverpool, thisdiscount department-store chain has 56outlets nationwide and awebsite selling arange ofmerchandise that includesclothes, electronics and furnishings. Thecompany operates a “lowest price intown” strategy to attract shoppersthrough its doors. Silverfleet Capitalbacked the £56m buyout of TJ Hughes in2003. Under chairman Neil McCausland,profits have risen by 21% a year, from£8.7m in 2008 to £12.8m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat99 KURT GEIGERShoe retailer 20.57%

THE designer-shoe retailer Kurt Geigersays that it sells 10 pairs of shoes everyminute from its 63 shops and 112department-store concessions worldwide.It plans to open 40more stores acrossBritain and 32 branches in Russia, TurkeyandMalaysia over the next five years. Aswell as its own footwear, theLondon-headquartered company islicensed to sell designer brands such asGucci and Jimmy Choo. Graphite Capitalbacked a £95m secondary buyout fromBarclays Private Equity in 2008. Chiefexecutive Neil Clifford has led the rapidstore-opening programme and overseen atrebling of internet sales to help KurtGeiger’s profits rise by 21% a year, from£10m in 2008 to £14.5m in 2010.

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114.24%114.24%PlatPlatPlat100 TRAFFICMASTERFleet software provider 20.57%

THE vehicle-tracking firm Trafficmasterprovides sat-nav systemswith live trafficinformation to help fleets improveefficiency, reduce costs and cut downtheir carbon footprint. The Bedfordshirecompany offers vehicle tracking,management and navigation in Britainand abroad, serving 9,000 fleets and atotal of 200,000 commercial vehicles.Vector Capital took the company privatefor £87m in June 2010. Under chiefexecutive Tony Eales, profits rose 21% ayear, from £9.4m in 2007 to £13.6m in2009, when the companywas still quoted.


Sole food: chief executive Stewart Houlgrave of Hotter Comfort Concept, which makes shoes with comfort built in

LDC 10Barclays Private Equity 4Bowmark Capital 4Inflexion Private Equity 4Duke Street Capital 3Silverfleet Capital 33i 2August Equity 2

Bregal Capital 2

Bridgepoint 2

Caird Capital 2

Charterhouse 2

Growth Capital Partners 2

Phoenix Equity Partners 2

Primary Capital 2

Sovereign Capital 2

TA Associates 2

Vision Capital 2

Vitruvian Partners 2

Warburg Pincus 2

VISMEDIA

Increasing stores and profits: Brighthouse chief executive Leo McKee

PRIVATE EQUITY HOUSES WITHTWO OR MORE INVESTMENTSIN BUYOUT TRACK 100 FIRMS

After a difficultperiod when bigbuyout houses andtheir portfolio com-p a n i e s w e r e

knocked by the banking melt-down and accompanyingrecession, some signs ofrecovery are emerging.Activity at the larger end of

the private-equity market,which includes many of theinvestors on the Buyout Track10 Biggest list, is picking up.Transaction flow has been

boosted by debt having becomemore readily available for theright acquisitions and by morewilling sellers, encouraged bythe robust valuations com-manded by good businesses.Across Britain, 20 buyoutsworth more than £250m werecompleted last year, accordingto the Centre for ManagementBuyout Research, up fromthree in 2009 and 13 in 2008.LastMay, for example, Qatar

Holdings acquired Harrods, atNo9 on the list, fromMohamedal-Fayed for a reported £1.5 bil-lion. More recently, DoughtyHanson beat off stiff competi-tion to buy Vue Entertainment,at No 7, from Coller Capital andthe hedge fund Och-Ziff in adeal that reportedly valued thecinema operator at £450m.An encouraging and impor-

tant sign, given the exit pipe-line that has built over recentlean years, is that the exitmarket shows signs of lifeagain, in part driven by sec-ondary deals but also, increas-ingly, by trade buyers dustingoff growth plans after years ofcutting costs and capitalexpenditure.Foreign buyers have been

particularly active, encouragedby the weak sterling exchangerate. Many of the deals havebeen in the energy market. Forexample, in December GeneralElectric agreed to buy quotedoil-and-gas group Wellstreamfor about £800m and in JulyHongKong businessman Li Ka-shing snapped up EDF’s Britishnetworks for £5.8 billion.Even the IPOmarket, which

has been unwelcoming sincethe onset of the recession, isshowing signs of life. The

number of companies comingto the London Stock Exchangequadrupled last year, as 89 ven-tures raised more than £10 bil-lion, compared with 22 firmsraising £1.5 billion in 2009.Among them was online

peer-to-peer bookmaker Bet-fair. The company, backed byJapanese technology investorSoftbank and others, appearedon last year’s 10 Biggest listbefore taking a minority staketo the market in October at ashareprice that valued thebusi-ness at £1.4 billion.Of course, therehasbeen ling-

ering scepticism about private-equity-backed IPOs as a resultof firms being floated withlarge debts and concerns thatshare prices are depressed byprivate-equity investors retain-ing big minority stakes uponfloating. But Carlyle Group andVestar Capital Partners provedprivate equity can get away flo-tations with great successwhen they took chemicalsgroup AZ Electronic Materialsto the market in November,raising £383m amid heavydemand for its shares.At a time when debt is nei-

ther cheap nor easy to arrangeand good businesses commandrelatively high prices despitethe low-growthmacro environ-ment, large private-equity-backed firms can no longer relyon financial engineering tocreate value. Instead, webelieve factors such as strategicchange, operational excellenceand bolt-on acquisitions willdeliver the outstanding profitgrowth demonstrated by thisyear’s 10 Biggest companies.As a result, we expect to see

large leveraged buyout housescontinuing to be innovative intheir deal-making, fromseeking smaller buy-and-buildopportunities to operating inless traditional sectors for themsuch as banking and insur-ance, and fromseekingpartner-ships with corporates togrowing their presence in lessdeveloped economies. We lookforward to supporting them.n Chris Hyams, head of Deloitte'sprivate equity transaction servicesbusiness, was talking to CatherineWheatley

Large private equitydeals are back on theagenda again, saysChris Hyams of Deloitte

Companyand activity

Locationof HQ

Financialyear end

Annual profitgrowth

Latest profit,£000s

Base yearprofit, £000s

Latest sales,£000s Staff Main shareholders Comment

1 Marken PharmaceuticalLogistics provider

West London Dec 09 101.27% 73,443 *18,131 154,383 360 Apax Partners (67%),management (33%)

Marken transports biological samples, vaccines and clinical trial material for the pharmaceutical industry. Thecompany was founded in 1980 and now has operations in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin Americaand Africa. Apax Partners backed a £975m tertiary buyout from Intermediate Capital Group in December 2009.

2 MarkitFinancial information provider

Central London Dec 09 82.56% 116,877 35,067 305,392 1,389 Employees, General Atlantic and otherfinancial institutions

Markit is a global financial information services company that provides independent data, valuations and tradeprocessing services for the over-the-counter markets. Financial institutions hold a majority stake. They includethe private-equity firm General Atlantic, which bought a 7.5% stake in January 2010 for a reported $250m.

3 R&R Ice CreamIce cream manufacturer

North Yorkshire Dec 09 69.70% 65,376 22,702 367,601 1,875 Oaktree Capital (83%),management (17%)

R&R operates eight factories across Europe that produce 730m litres of ice cream a year. It manufactures a broadrange of own-label ice cream products for several supermarket chains and has manufacturing and distribution agree-ments with several brand owners, including Nestlé and Mars. Oaktree Capital delisted the group in 2006 for £182m.

4 InfinisRenewable energy generator

Northampton Mar 10 52.85% 71,770 30,720 143,434 454 Terra Firma Capital Partners (100%) Infinis is Britain’s leading generator of purely renewable power and is also the largest generator for the landfillgas-to-electricity market. It produces about 10% of the UK’s renewable power, and 0.7% of total electricity supply.In 2006, Terra Firma spun Infinis out of WRG, the waste management company it took private for £531m in 2003.

5 Spire HealthcarePrivate hospital operator

Central London Dec 09 38.41% 150,383 78,500 619,992 6,284 Cinven, management This company says it is the second-biggest operator of private hospitals in Britain. It has 37 hospitals with a totalof 1,935 beds. The company was formed in 2007 when Cinven, the private-equity firm, backed the £1.4 billionacquisition of 25 former Bupa hospitals.

6 Barchester HealthcareCare home operator

West London Dec 09 29.03% 50,826 30,528 413,115 14,127 Grove Investments (100%) Mike Parsons set up this company in 1993 and it now runs more than 200 nursing homes, caring for 10,000 people,and offering dementia care and assisted living as well as support for younger people with disabilities. Irish entrepre-neurs John Magnier, JP McManus and Dermot Desmond acquired the business in 1994 for an undisclosed amount.

7 Vue EntertainmentCinema operator

West London Nov 09 24.89% 57,979 37,171 271,952 3,069 Doughty Hanson (73%),management (27%)

Vue’s 70 cinemas attract 37m customers every year and a further 10 sites are expected to open over the next threeyears. Formed in 2003 when SBC International bought 36 cinemas from Warner Village for £250m, the company wassold to Doughty Hanson in November for a reported £450m, including debt.

8 AirwaveEmergency communicationsprovider

Slough Jun 10 22.33% 192,759 *128,813 413,227 866 Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund(50%), Canada Pension Plan (50%)

Airwave’s core business is supplying the emergency services with secure digital radio communication systems.In 2007, Macquarie paid Telefonica £1.9 billion for the firm. In 2009, the listed Macquarie fund MCG, which owned50% of the business, was then acquired by Canada Pension Plan.

9 HarrodsDepartment store operator

Central London Jan 10 21.60% 86,500 58,500 519,800 3,314 Qatar Holding (100%) Harrods says its Knightsbridge site is Britain’s largest shop, selling an array of fashion, food and luxury goods. Otherenterprises within the Harrods brand include property, aircraft sales and a number of outlets in overseas departmentstores and airports. Qatar Holdings bought Harrods from Mohamed Al-Fayed for a reported £1.5 billion last May.

10 EnterpriseMaintenance services provider

Lancashire Dec 09 20.32% 84,400 58,300 1,060,200 8,515 3i (57%), Equiom Trust Company (23%),management and staff (20%)

Enterprise works from more than 150 sites across Britain and Ireland, providing infrastructure maintenance forthe likes of the Highways Agency, United Utilities and the Ministry of Defence. In 2007, 3i backed a £594mpublic-to-private deal. Later that year Enterprise bought its competitor, Accord, for £195m.

10 BUYOUTTRACK100

Harrods: bought by Qatar Holdings for a reported £1.5bn

10 biggest buyouts with fastest growing profits

Light at endof the tunnel

NOTES: Figure for profit growth is taken over the latest two years for which accounts are available *Annualised figureThe 10 Biggest is a separate league table of the fastest-growing private-equity-backed companies with profits of more than £50m, ranked by profit growth over a two-year period

Researched and compiled by BUYOUT TRACK

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