Dunedin takes on powerful players

Dunedin Capital Partners led the secondary management buyout of Capula from Bridgepoint. Dunedin backed the management team led by CEO Roger Turner in a transaction valued at £30m. The private equity group provided £15.6m of equity, for a 70% equity stake, alongside a debt facility of £14.5m provided by Barclays Leveraged Finance.

Capula has a strong market position in its core markets of power generation and the nuclear industry, providing IT systems which control much of the electricity distributed across the UK and IT services to the majority of the plants at the Sellafield nuclear site. In addition, Capula is the only UK-based company with a 100% track record of on-time delivery of IT systems to the UK’s coal-fired power stations.

Capula plans to expand its presence in the nuclear and water utilities sectors where legislation is driving a round of increased capital expenditure for infrastructure projects that Capula is well placed to implement.

Dunedin directors John Hudson and Dougal Bennett led and completed the transaction. Hudson said: “We are delighted to be supporting Roger Turner and the management team in this secondary buyout. Capula is a clear market leader in its field and the accomplishments of the management team were a key factor in our decision to make this investment. The nuclear and utilities sectors are poised for considerable growth and we look forward to working with the Capula management team in developing the business.”

Roger Turner, CEO of Capula added: “This is a very exciting time for everyone at Capula. All our markets are facing a period of significant capital investment driven by factors such as the UK Government’s recent Energy Review and regulatory driven investment in the Utilities. Dunedin has joined our team at just the right time to help us capitalise on opportunities as our clients adopt the latest generation of advanced automation systems to improve business efficiency.”

Ernst & Young advised Dunedin on the acquisition with Pinsent Mason, KPMG and Armstrong providing legal advice, financial and commercial due diligence respectively.