Ethos Partners Completes the £22m Buyout of Motocaddy Holdings Limited

Ethos is pleased to announce the £22m buyout of Europe’s leading provider of powered golf trolleys.

The transaction was led by Ethos Partners, whose HNW investor clients provided equity funding to support the acquisition. Ethos Partners is a private investment office set up by private equity professionals to provide £3-10m of supportive equity capital to established, ambitious UK companies. Senior debt and equity was provided by specialist debt fund manager Beechbrook Capital, who provide flexible finance to support the expansion of SMEs across Northern Europe.

Profile of the company

Founded in 2004, Motocaddy is an established, market-leading brand with a proven track record of providing a suite of technology-led golf products, with a particular focus on powered golf trolleys. Motocaddy’s experienced management team have cultivated a leading reputation for product quality, design and technological innovation.

The buyout presents an opportunity to back an experienced team, led by CEO John Helas alongside management team members Neil Parker (Sales Director) and Paul Straker (Product Development Director), to continue to deliver ongoing product innovation and to drive domestic and international expansion.

High net worth investors of Ethos Partners provided the equity funding and together with a unitranche debt facility from Beechbrook backed the management team to acquire the business for £22m from its shareholders.

John Helas, CEO, said:

‘We are thrilled that Ethos will be partnering with Motocaddy to support the delivery of our growth plans. The Ethos team have understood our business throughout the process and I look forward to working with Sandy and the team as we all look to take the business forward.’

Sandy Farmer, Partner at Ethos, commented:

‘The team at Motocaddy have successfully built an internationally recognised consumer brand, which is underpinned by the quality of its product, innovation and people. We believe the business is well placed to continue to expand internationally across existing markets and elsewhere. We look forward to supporting John, Neil, Paul and the rest of the team on the next phase of their journey.’

Jon Herbert, Managing Director at Beechbrook Capital added:

‘We are pleased to have completed this investment into Motocaddy, having been impressed by the management team and the products during our due diligence. Ethos and management’s plans for the business are exciting and we are looking forward to supporting them going forward.’