ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey,
Aug. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- European Capital Limited ("European Capital") announced
today that it and certain affiliates have completed a £113.5
million refinancing of their portfolio company, Hillarys, the UK's
leading made-to-measure supplier of domestic window coverings, and
have used the proceeds, together with a further £5.5 million equity
investment, to buy out minority investor, Permira Debt Managers.
The refinancing takes the form of term and revolving credit
facilities provided by incumbent lenders GE Capital International,
Ares Management Ltd. and Permira Debt Managers.
"We are delighted with this positive refinancing of the Hillarys
business and pleased that we have been able to meaningfully
increase our equity participation," said Giles Cheek, Managing Director, European
Buyouts. "With its unique business model, Hillarys continues
to go from strength to strength and we look forward to continuing
to partner with management and together delivering on exciting new
growth opportunities."
Founded in 1971, Hillarys is the leading provider of
made-to-measure window coverings in the UK. It operates a direct
sales model offering blinds, shutters, curtains and carpets through
a nationwide network of 950 advisors visiting half a million homes
a year. The business also sells to customers through the web
under the Web-Blinds and Blinds Supermarket brands and to trade
customers under Arena and Custom West. Hillarys is
headquartered in Nottingham, UK
and employs 1,200 people across its assembly facilities and offices
in Nottingham and Washington, UK.
"Through continued investment in people, infrastructure and
product development, Hillarys' management team has successfully
grown the business and increased market share in what has been a
difficult consumer environment," commented Benjamin Suquet, Director, European Buyouts.
"With this refinancing completed, Hillarys is ideally
positioned to capitalise on the ongoing economic recovery in the
UK."
John Risman, CEO of Hillarys
said, "European Capital has been a very supportive partner, both
financially and operationally, and we are pleased that they
continue to invest in Hillarys and the vision we have for the
future of the company. We look forward to continuing our
relationship with them and our lending syndicate."
ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital is an investment company for pan-European private
equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with €0.9 billion in
assets under management. European Capital is a wholly-owned
affiliate of American Capital, Ltd ("American Capital"). It is
managed by European Capital Asset Management Limited ("ECAM" or the
"Investment Manager"), a wholly-owned affiliate of American
Capital. The Investment Manager has offices in London and Paris. As of 30 June
2014 the Investment Manager had 24 investment professionals
and employed 31 support staff. European Capital and its affiliate,
American Capital, will consider private equity transactions euros
or sterling of up to 400 million for One Stop Buyouts® and 10
million to 40 million for senior, mezzanine and unitranche debt
investment opportunities. For further information, please refer to
www.EuropeanCapital.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) is a publicly traded private
equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both
directly and through its asset management business, originates,
underwrites and manages investments in middle market private
equity, leveraged finance, real estate, energy & infrastructure
and structured products. American Capital manages
$19 billion of assets, including
assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management
by affiliated managers, with $84
billion of total assets under management (including levered
assets). Through an affiliate, American Capital manages
publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC),
American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) and
American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACSF) with
approximately $11 billion of
aggregate net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S.
and Europe, American Capital and
its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment
opportunities from $10 million to $750
million. For further information, please refer to
www.AmericanCapital.com.
Contact: European Capital Financial Services Limited
+44-207-539-7000
Giles Cheek, Managing Director,
Buyouts
Ben Suquet, Director,
Buyouts