European Capital Arranges Unitranche Financing to Support the Acquisition of sofa.com by CBPE Capital
LONDON, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- European Capital UK SME Debt fund, together with European Capital Limited and its subsidiaries ("European Capital"), has arranged the unitranche financing supporting CBPE Capital's ("CBPE") acquisition of sofa.com (the "Company").
"We are extremely pleased to provide financing for the acquisition of sofa.com, which will support its plans for future development in the UK," said Jerry Tebbutt, Managing Director. "This is the first investment from our European Capital UK SME Debt fund, which provides tailored financing for high quality small and medium sized enterprises in the UK."
Established in 2006, sofa.com is a multi-channel retailer of bespoke high quality sofas, armchairs and beds with competitive, straight-forward pricing and leading service levels. Sofa.com has UK showrooms in Chelsea and Bath.
"We are delighted to be CBPE's financing partner in the primary buyout of sofa.com, a successful retailer with a strong brand, differentiated consumer offering and operating model," said Colin Wright, Director. "We have been impressed with the management team, including the experienced executives CBPE is introducing to supplement the strong existing team, and their ambition to scale the business in the coming years."
Jolyon Latimer, Investment Director at CBPE commented, "European Capital has provided flexible financing to suit the growth plans and operational improvements in our business plan and we look forward to working with them during our investment timeframe."
ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital Limited is an investment company for UK and pan-European equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with €0.9 billion in assets under management. European Capital Limited is a wholly owned affiliate of American Capital, Ltd. ("American Capital"). Since its inception, European Capital Limited has invested €3.7 billion in over 100 companies in Europe. It is managed by European Capital Asset Management Limited ("the Investment Manager"), a wholly owned affiliate of American Capital.
European Capital UK SME Debt fund is a £100 million fund set up to provide debt finance in small and medium sized enterprises in the UK. It is managed by European Capital Debt Management Limited, a wholly owned affiliate of American Capital.
The Investment Manager has offices in London and Paris with 52 employees. European Capital and its affiliates will consider senior, mezzanine and unitranche debt investment opportunities from 10 million to 100 million in either euros or sterling and up to 300 million for One Stop Buyouts®. 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 $22 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $86 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through a wholly owned 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 total net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia, American Capital and its wholly owned affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $600 million. For more information, please refer to www.AmericanCapital.com.
ABOUT CBPE CAPITAL
CBPE Capital is a leading private equity firm with eight funds raised over 30 years. It is currently investing its latest fund, which closed in January 2010 at £405 million. Investments are typically made in companies seeking growth or development capital, with an enterprise value of up to £150 million.
Contact:
Jerry Tebbutt, Managing Director
Colin Wright, Director
Anne-Claire Assier de Pompignan, Investment Director
+44-(0)20-7539-7000
www.europeancapital.com
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