Sullivan Street Partners, alongside Oakfield Capital and with financing from Indigo Capital, has acquired Taylor Continental Group, a leading UK producer of commercial and industrial waste containers with annual revenues of over GBP20m, from ECI Partners.
Taylor was acquired by ECI Partners in 2005 and Sullivan Street partner Richard Sanders has been involved with the business and management team since 2006. Under the ownership of ECI Partners the company has streamlined and professionalised its operations to become a defensive, cash-resilient business poised for both domestic and international growth. Following a process to find a suitable partner for this next stage of development initiated earlier in the year, Sullivan Street has been working with ECI Partners and management for several months leading up to the transaction.
Established nearly 50 years ago, Taylor is the world’s leading manufacturer and designer of 4-wheeled steel bins and recycling containers and is also the UK market leader, supplying over 80 per cent of the market. The company produces over 70,000 bins a year to sell to major commercial and industrial waste companies as well as the main private sector contractors and also supplies 90 per cent of the UK’s Local Authorities. In addition, the company refurbishes over 20,000 containers each year. All company products are manufactured at Taylor’s UK manufacturing facility near Droitwich, Birmingham, which employs over 150 people in total. Taylor also operates globally, supplying the waste and recycling containment infrastructure for entire cities and countries, and has sold over 1.5 million containers world-wide. The company achieved revenues of £21.7 million for the year ended 30 June 2011. www.taylorbins.co.uk.
Layton Tamberlin (pictured), partner of Sullivan Street Partners, says: “We see our investment in Taylor as an investment in the right company in a resilient industry. Taylor is an extremely well-run company and a credit to the UK manufacturing sector – it has the potential to be the major player in commercial waste containment internationally as more countries turn towards flexible solutions to urban waste and recycling. This combination of company and industry, as well as our knowledge and admiration of the management team, has made it a perfect investment for Sullivan Street’s first LBO transaction.”
Peter Selkirk, Chairman of Taylor Continental Group, says: “Our company has real opportunities for growth driven by an increasing environmental awareness on a global scale; we are focused on reducing waste and changing public behaviour for the better. We are delighted to be partnering with Sullivan Street as they understand our business well and working together will enable us to build on the excellent platform we have established over the last five years.”
