First exit for Rosewood Partnership

The Rosewood Partnership, a Leeds-based turnaround fund, has realised its first investment through the sale of Bristol-based print supply company, Bousfield, to Openshaw Group. The deal also included the disposal of significant property assets to Kenmore Property Group. Openshaw, a leading distributor of print supplies in the UK, is backed by the private equity investment fund of the Rutland Trust.

Rosewood acquired Bousfield last November in a £7.25 million buyout from Amberley Group PLC. Rosewood and NM Rothschild & Co Ltd funded the deal. Under Rosewood’s ownership the company has been returned to profitability. Michael McVicar, who led the transaction for Rosewood, said: “We are delighted to have completed our first investment realisation after only one year. Our active management strategy and focus on asset management has meant that we have been able to bring about significant benefits to Bousfield in a unusually short period.”

Bousfield is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of speciality printing inks, coatings and press room chemicals and a major distributor of pre-press and press room products to the printing industry. Rosewood’s has made two further investments in the last year.

Openshaw is one of the leading distributors of print supplies, such as consumables, pre-press and digital printing systems, in the UK. The Rutland Fund invested in Openshaw in September 2000 when the company was demerged from the Wolstenholme Group at the time of the company’s public-to-private. Rutland invested a further £3 million to support the acquisition. Bousfield will be integrated into the Openshaw business to increase the market share and product offering of the print supplies and distribution business.