RJD Partners, a UK lower middle market private equity investor, has backed the management buy-in of Dunham Leisure, a holiday park business based in south east Scotland.
Dunham was previously owned by Dennis Dunham, an independent caravan park operator, along with other members of his family.
The business comprises two parks: Thurston Manor, a 175 acre park situated 30 miles from Edinburgh near the historic coastal town of Dunbar in East Lothian; and Pease Bay, which is situated directly beside a sandy beach, five miles south east of Thurston Manor.
RJD has backed the buy-in team of Graham Hodgson as chief executive, Andrew Wall as finance director and Bev Dixon as operations director. Hodgson and Dixon previously led the private equity backed MBO of South Lakeland Parks in June 2006, before the business was sold in December 2007. Wall was previously a partner at HMT Corporate Finance.
Richard Caston, partner, RJD Partners, says: "Having tracked the sector for some time, RJD is delighted to back Graham Hodgson, Andrew Wall and Bev Dixon as an experienced management team with an impressive track record in this sector. The Dunham parks are well established but nevertheless offer significant development potential and represent an excellent platform for further park acquisition opportunities.”
Hodgson says: "Dunham owns two fantastic holiday parks and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to develop further the excellent foundations and reputation established by Dennis Dunham. RJD shares our vision and strategy for the future and is the right partner to support us in achieving our goals for the business."
The management buy-in has been financed through a combination of investment by management and funds managed by RJD together with banking facilities provided by Yorkshire Bank Corporate & Structured Finance.
Yorkshire Bank Corporate & Structured Finance is providing over GBP8.5m in senior debt and other facilities to support the deal.
Guy Taylor, director with Yorkshire Bank Corporate & Structured Finance in Manchester, says: “We’re backing a very experienced and highly regarded management team with the backing of a strong private equity house in RJD Partners. The buy and build strategy the team have in place will take advantage of good opportunities in this highly fragmented sector. We look forward to helping RJD and management build the group.”
