Sentio Insight has provided transaction support services to ESO Capital Partners UK LLP (“ESO”), the provider of flexible capital solutions to small and medium-sized companies, on their backing of the management buyout of north-west England headquartered Pyroguard.
Over the last four years, Pyroguard, a market leading manufacturer of fire-resistant architectural glass, has experienced significant organic growth, which is expected to continue. This new investment will allow the management team of Pyroguard to accelerate their expansion plans in the UK and Europe.
The existing Pyroguard management team will become majority equity shareholders, led by CEO Neil Tilsley with Nick Brayshaw continuing in his role as Chairman. David Steel, Director at ESO, joins the Pyroguard Board.
This is the first transaction completed by ESO since acquiring Core Capital in May 2018, and is structured as a senior-secured loan note with additional equity participation. The deal structure is typical of the highly flexible deals that ESO focuses on. By combining ESO’s credit expertise with Core Capital’s extensive sourcing capabilities, the enlarged ESO team offers bespoke capital structure solutions for European SMEs, with enhanced portfolio company support, solving a financing gap in the market.
Pyroguard’s prior backers were Dunedin and NVM.
Neil Tilsley, CEO of Pyroguard, commented: “I am delighted that a forward thinking and proactive investor such as ESO has seen the potential of investing in the future success of Pyroguard. Dunedin and NVM have been highly supportive investors for several years and have played a significant role in making Pyroguard the successful high growth business it is today. Bringing in a new external institutional investor like ESO, who has supported rapid growth across a range of businesses before, will bring not only a fresh perspective but also help us to accelerate our ambitious growth plans. Pyroguard has an exciting future ahead as a result of this new partnership.”
David Steel, Director, ESO: “Pyroguard is already a very successful business, with an experienced management team, a strong presence in a highly technical sector with significant barriers to entry. Given our experience in working with high-growth companies, we see considerable opportunity for ESO Capital to support the management team of Pyroguard as it looks to build its market share in this very interesting sector.”
Walid Fakhry, Founding Partner, ESO: “We are pleased to be announcing our first deal since ESO acquired Core Capital earlier this year. Our investment in Pyroguard, which sits senior in the capital structure, perfectly demonstrates our strong, flexible financing capabilities and support for ambitious growth companies.”
Tom Hayes from Sentio Insight provided transaction support to ESO Capital.
