Duke Capital, a provider of hybrid capital solutions for SME business owners, has revealed the successful exit of its investment in Meteor HoldCo Limited, the 100% owner of Fabrikat (Nottingham) Ltd, a manufacturer of street lighting columns and guard rails.
The exit comes three years after Duke’s financing solution enabled Fabrikat’s established management team to become majority equity owners.
Fabrikat is being acquired by Metalogalva – Irmãos Silvas, SA, a Portuguese company in the area of engineering and steel protection with more than 50 years of history and operations spanning across 14 countries and four continents.
Neil Johnson, CEO of Duke Capital, said: “Fabrikat is a real success story for Duke and a great case study for why Duke’s capital is a perfect fit for individuals seeking to execute an MBO.
“Our capital allowed long-standing employees of a strong business to step up into large equity ownership positions and in that role, they continued to prove themselves as great stewards of the business, creating value for all stakeholders. In turn, we are pleased to build on our already robust track record of achieving above-average returns on exits.”
Duke had invested a total of £6.2 million in Fabrikat to date.
Paul Allen, CFO of Fabrikat, said: “We would like to thank Duke Capital for buying into our vision in a way which motivated us to drive significant growth in the company. Duke’s capital enabled us to execute the MBO while the team supported us by becoming partners in our growth and success.
“Initially we went through a very competitive process but only Duke Capital’s offer allowed us to keep 70% of the business that we had spent years crafting as the senior management team. And to top it off, we were able to keep control of the timing of the sale and the counterparty to whom we entrust the future of Fabrikat and our employees.”
