Gresham makes 4x return on Alstec sale

Gresham Private Equity, the UK mid-market private equity firm, has sold its stake in Alstec Group, a nuclear and airport services operator, generating a 4x return on its investment.

The company has been bought by Babcock International, the UK support services business, for £44.9m, bringing to an end Gresham’s involvement, which dates back to May 2000 when it backed a management buyout from Alstom.

Alstec has a number of high profile customers, including BAA, for which is provides operations and maintenance services, UKAEA, British Energy and the Atomic Weapons Establishment. It also has a small defence business that designs, supplies, maintains and upgrades equipment for the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Peter Rogers, chief executive of Babcock, said: “Alstec is an excellent strategic fit with Babcock’s existing support services activities and brings to us an important new set of customers. We are now well placed to bid for a range of opportunities in the expanding market for nuclear utility support services and decommissioning. Alstec is poised to deliver excellent levels of profitability and we expect the business to be earnings enhancing for Babcock in its first year of ownership.”