Car repair products company U-POL has undergone a £130 million MBO, backed by mid-market private equity firm Graphite Capital

Car repair products company U-POL has undergone a £130 million management buy-out, backed by mid-market private equity firm Graphite Capital.
 
U-POL chief executive Phil May, who joined the business in 2006, is leading the senior management team, all of whom are reinvesting some of their proceeds from the MBO in the business.

The business was acquired from private equity investor AAC Capital Partners. Clydesdale provided a £61 million funding package as part of a ‘banking club’ which also included RBS, HSBC and Bank of Ireland.

This is the second time Graphite has backed an MBO of U-POL, which is a global supplier of vehicle repair products such as adhesives and polishes from its manufacturing facility in the East Midlands. Graphite first acquired the company in 2002 and sold it to AAC three years later.