ESO Capital Partners has completed an investment to support the management buy-out of Pyroguard, the leading independent manufacturer of fire resistant glass based in St Helens. PMSI provided vendor commercial due diligence (VCDD) for the deal.
Pyroguard manufactures and supplies high performance fire glass to architects, specifiers, contractors and construction professionals, enabling them to meet all their fire safety glazing requirements via a single source. The business has expanded from its initial target markets of the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands to supply customers in France, Germany, Scandinavia and further afield.
The company has experienced significant organic growth over the past four years, and this investment from ESO will allow the management team of Pyroguard to accelerate their expansion plans to further strengthen Pyroguard’s position across the UK, Europe and selected wider global markets.
Led by CEO Neil Tilsley, the existing management team will now become majority equity shareholders, driving forward the company’s expansion strategy. Nick Brayshaw will continue in his role as Non-Executive Chairman, while David Steel, Director at ESO, joins the Board.
Speaking of the investment, Neil Tilsley, CEO of Pyroguard, said: “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.”
Neil Tilsley also commented: “We enjoyed working with PMSI and found their working style to be flexible and constructive. They were able to help get potential buyers up the learning curve on what is a specialist and complex market, which contributed to the success of the overall process.”
ESO’s investment in Pyroguard is typical of the highly flexible deal structures the firm focuses on, offering bespoke capital solutions to SMEs within Europe, and signals the first transaction completed by ESO Capital since its acquisition of Core Capital in May 2018.
David Steel, Director of ESO Capital, added: “Pyroguard is already a very successful business, with an experienced management team and a strong presence in a highly technical sector with significant barriers to entry. Given our experience in supporting 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.”
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