Whiteside leads MBO team in £119.5m acquisition of Adare
Adare Group, a leading UK print management, mailing and packaging solutions company, today announces that a team of seven current directors, led by Robert Whiteside, has acquired the business with the backing of Bank of Scotland Corporate.
Bank of Scotland Corporate has provided a £119.5 million integrated debt and equity package to support management in a secondary buyout of Adare. Under the structure of the deal, Whiteside and his team will take a majority equity stake, with Bank of Scotland Corporate taking a minority stake.
As a leading provider of senior debt for management buy-outs, Bank of Scotland has always been committed to partnerships and long-term relationships. Its support of management in this buyout is a reflection of the confidence the Bank has in a progressive and financially strong organisation with significant potential for growth.
Adare provides a range of solutions for many blue-chip clients such as HBOS, RBS, HMRC and Waitrose. Founded in 1991, Adare has established a leading position in the print services sector, employing 1,200 staff across 17 locations, including several 'in client' sites, and has an annual turnover of around £160 million. It also owns an extensive network of franchised businesses through the superbrands Kall Kwik and Prontaprint, the two clear market leaders in On Demand Communications.
The MBO team comprises Robert Whiteside who will become Chief Executive Officer, Julian Coghlan, Barry Crich, Clinton Everard, Peter Livesey, David Mills and Steven Ueckermann. Between them, they have many years of extensive industry experience and proven track records of successfully managing change and business improvement.
In his previous role as Adare Group Business Development Director, Whiteside led the transformation of Adare from a collection of individual operating companies, into a more cohesive organisation offering Print Management Solutions, Mailing Solutions and Packaging Solutions, alongside branded subsidiaries; Kall Kwik, Prontaprint and CJ Fallon.
The MBO team has a clear vision and will implement progressive development plans. This will ensure much greater clarity and strategic focus and will deliver an effective response to the evolving outsourcing requirements of clients by presenting a 'single face' to the market.
Whiteside has also announced that from today, Adare's Head Office will be re-located from Dublin to its largest UK site near Leeds, West Yorkshire. This swift action to centralise Head Office functions will enable faster decision-making and more effective management of the business.
Adare's strategic objectives are to build on its position as a leading solutions provider to create a major force in corporate information and communication solutions. This will be achieved by expanding its portfolio of products and services, delivering a superior service, embracing franchisees into the core of the organisation and ensuring that the business remains closely aligned to the evolving market. In addition, the new executive team will look to extend Adare's footprint into the European market, replicating the successful UK model.
Adare's franchisees are a fundamental and critical asset, which is a true market differentiator. Going forward, the new management team will forge closer relationships to enhance business performance and will work on a range of innovative business development opportunities to guarantee continued future success.
Clients, employees, franchisees and supply partners will all benefit from today's announcement and will see an immediate step change within the business. With the new executive management team in position, immediate and significant progress will be made with clear focus on the development of the business divisions and their solutions. This, in conjunction with the centralisation of Head Office functions, will ensure further and continual improvements can be implemented, and management is confident of a secure and exciting future under its new leadership.
Robert Whiteside, Chief Executive of Adare, commented: "Adare has achieved an impressive market status through robust and effective traditional business values. We now have a perfect opportunity to build on this platform, unlock the significant untapped potential of the Group and achieve our ambitious growth targets. This team has the drive, ambition and credentials to create something different and special in the marketplace, and it is our clear intention to channel these attributes into solutions that add true value for our customers."
