A company that provides a range of vehicle services to car rental firms and insurance companies has been bought by a new chief executive.
A company that provides a range of vehicle services to car rental firms and insurance companies has been bought by a new chief executive.
Ian Wardle has joined the existing management team at Camden Corporate Fleet Services in buying the company, with the backing of Barclays Private Equity.
Wardle and the management team invested in the deal alongside £27 million from Barclays, which now holds a majority shareholding in the business.
The investment will be used to support Camden’s growth plans and follows its acquisition of rival fleet services provider Inchcape Automotive in June this year.
Wardle, a former head of Vanguard’s car rental operations, said he will be building on Camden’s success to grow the business. “Camden has always been well regarded within the industry and we are ready to take the company on to its next phase of growth.”
Barclays Private Equity director Anton Wellenreiter said this deal is an exciting opportunity to back a new and experienced management team. “We look forward to supporting their growth plans for the business, building on their impressive track record to date.”
The deal was supported by £42 million of debt provided by Landsbanki Islands and National Australia Bank.
Alison Timme, associate director at Landsbanki, led the deal supported by Mikael Busch, a director in Leverage Finance.
Timme said: “The debt structure provided was traditional, but one well suited to the needs of the business. Camden now has the opportunity to combine and leverage off a number of complimentary service offerings, providing a strong platform from which to grow. It has been a pleasure to work with the management team and we look forward to their continued success.”
Busch added: “The element that stood out on this deal was the experience and knowledge of Ian Wardle, the incoming chief executive. His in-depth knowledge of the business, the sector and the industry as a whole was extremely beneficial to us throughout the process of understanding the company and its competitive environment. We wish him and his team well and are very pleased to be on board.”
Barclays’ appointed Henry Bonham, a director at consultancy RPS’ Chepstow office, to manage an environmental due diligence review of the target company.
Bonham said the firm knows Camden’s business well as it has provided environmental support for several years, including managing the environmental due diligence report on Camden’s acquisition of Inchcape Automotive.
“RPS has worked with Barclays Private Equity on previous occasions and given our knowledge of the company we were therefore invited to provide a complete review and update on the environmental status of the properties owned by Inchcape Automotive and Camden Corporate Fleet Services,” he added.
“RPS has been able to advise Camden on the environmental aspects relating to its property portfolio over the years and could confirm where action had been taken to manage these aspects. RPS was therefore in a position to advise the banks on the environmental risks in relation to the property portfolio in a timely manner.”
Camden’s services include vehicle delivery, tax and registration, in-life management, refurbishment and re-marketing of ex-fleet vehicles for car rental firms and insurance courtesy cars. It also operates a number of new and used car dealerships under the Ford, Vauxhall, Nissan and Renault brands.
