30
MANAGEMENT TEAM SPONSORED BY PwC
OF THE YEAR AWARD
WINNER LEASEDRIVE VELO
Above: David Bird
Right: Bird (centre) with Andy Morgan (right) and Mark Durden-Smith
In 2010, the title of Management Team of the Year was a brand new category and this year there was no shortage of nominations to fill the space left by the inaugural winner Micro Focus.
Sponsored once again by PwC, the title seeks to reward the management team which has shown exceptional leadership and vision.
With the terrific calibre of deals completed over the past 12 months there were plenty of candidates, but it was Atlantic Foods, Equiniti (Xafinity) and Leasedrive Velo that made it on to the shortlist.
It was the acquisition of Oasis Foods by Hartley Wintney-based Atlantic Foods which was behind the latter’s management team nomination. Previously a successful importer and supplier of sauces and chicken for the UK’s fast food sector, the move gave Atlantic Foods control for the first time over the manufacture of key product lines.
The management team was praised for the way it had worked “extremely hard and diligently“, fulfilling all its objectives within a 100-day timeframe to integrate the new business into its group.
The Equiniti entry followed the £195 million secondary MBO of Reading-based Xafinity Holdings, one of the largest on- patch debt-funded deals in the past year, which was supported by funds managed
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by private equity firm Advent International and a consortium of banks led by Barclays Corporate.
One nomination said: “Management worked extremely hard to bring together a club of banks comprising both existing and new lenders to the relationship, resulting in an over-subscription of required debt facilities.“
The Equiniti Group was formed by bringing together Equiniti and Xafinity to create a £300m turnover business.
No stranger to the awards stage is Wokingham’s Leasedrive Velo, now the UK’s largest independent privately-owned vehicle management group.
Its latest venture saw it join forces with FTSE 100 company Investec, which bought Masterlease UK for an undisclosed sum and appointed Leasedrive to manage the company and integrate it into its existing business.
Nominations revealed the Leasedrive Velo team had spotted the Masterlease opportunity more than a year earlier, and demonstrated its creativity by engaging with Investec to facilitate and fund the opportunity.
A large integration project is now underway and, with a strong portfolio of blue chip clients and a fleet of more than 48,000 vehicles, the management team’s focus has
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2011
already delivered synergies for the combined business.
Andy Morgan, PwC’s head of Corporate Finance South East took to the stage to read out the winner and there was loud applause as the Leasedrive Velo name was read out.
Managing director David Bird collected the trophy and said the team was honoured to have been recommended and absolutely delighted to win.
“The region has a thriving business community and we have witnessed its growth as a financial hub over the last decade or so,“ he commented. “Throughout the development of our organisation we have benefited from exceptional advice, guidance and support from many of the firms represented at the awards and we are fortunate to have such a wealth of first-class financial and legal expertise on our doorstep.
“We look forward to continuing to develop Leasedrive Velo’s business with the excellent support of our local business community.“
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