Gresham exits Beck & Pollitzer

Gresham today announces it has made a successful exit from Beck & Pollitzer, one of Europe's leading engineering services contractors.

Gresham has realised its investment in Beck & Pollitzer through a £28.8m tertiary buy-out and achieved a 2.5x money multiple. Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance funded the transaction with a £27.6m integrated debt and equity package. The deal has allowed the directors, management and employees, to secure a majority of the shareholding in Beck & Pollitzer with Bank of Scotland taking a substantial minority stake.

Gresham originally invested £7.2m in the management buy-in buy-out of Beck & Pollitzer in March 1998 from Schroder Ventures.

Beck & Pollitzer specialises in the installation and relocation of industrial plant and machinery and operates throughout the world. Its headquarters are in Dartford, Kent, and it has operating locations throughout the UK and in Western and Central Europe.

The company has an extensive network of offices and has supported constant innovation to ensure that it is able to offer fully integrated project solutions using the latest technology.

Beck & Pollitzer's policy of continual investment has enabled it to become a world leader in the installation and transfer of manufacturing plant and process equipment. It has an extensive range of domestic and multinational blue chip clients operating in the automotive, paper, printing, pharmaceutical and packaging industries. The company has now grown to 330 employees and a turnover of £45m.

James Barbour-Smith, director at Gresham who sat on the Beck & Pollitzer board, said: "This is a great British success story in what has been a turbulent manufacturing industry in recent years. Beck & Pollitzer has adapted to changes in the industry ensuring that it remains able to offer a high quality outsourced solution to blue chip companies."

Tony Percival, managing director of Beck & Pollitzer, said: "We have enjoyed good working relationships with a number of individuals at Gresham. Our partnership has ensured that the company is positioned well for future growth and I now look forward to working with the Bank of Scotland."

Mike Innes, director of Integrated Finance at Bank of Scotland, said: "We are delighted to have provided an integrated finance package that allows the existing management and employees to take control of Beck & Pollitzer, which is a market leader with an excellent reputation and a clear growth strategy."

The sale of Beck & Pollitzer is the latest in a series of successful exits for Gresham - including the London Stock Exchange listing of office2office, the sale of Dimensions Holdings Limited to Johnson Service Group plc and the SBO of 1st Credit to Bridgepoint. The investments sold already in 2004 have generated an average of 4x money.

Peter Gray of Cavendish Corporate Finance advised Gresham and management on the transaction.