Arbuthnot provides £4.5m facility to support acquisition of MDS from founder

The money is to be used by Darren Chaston, Richard Pullen and Matthew Pratt in acquiring MDS Civil Engineering’s (MDS) from its founder.

Arbuthnot provides £4.5m facility to support acquisition of MDS from founder

Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending (ABL) has provided a £4.5m facility to support an acquisition.

 

The money is to be used by Darren Chaston, Richard Pullen and Matthew Pratt in acquiring MDS Civil Engineering’s (MDS) from its founder.

The funding package includes a £2.5m receivables financing line, £1.5m amortising plant and machinery loan and a £500k cashflow loan.

As a result of the purchase, founder Roy Marfleet has begun a phased exit.

Andrew Rutherford, commercial director at Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, said: “MDS is a growing, well-established and profitable company with a strong client base, run by a very experienced management team.

“This transaction underlines the flexibility of asset-based lending in providing the capital to support the acquisition of a business by its management team as well as a dynamic supply of ongoing funding that will grow with the company’s sales.

“We look forward to developing a lasting relationship with the MDS team.”

Matthew Pratt, finance director of MDS Civil Engineering, said: “Prior to our initial meeting with Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, their team called us to request further information and demonstrated a good understanding of our sector and its specific working capital cycle.

“This level of expertise immediately put them in a strong position to secure the mandate.

“To have the involvement of key decision-makers at Arbuthnot at the first meeting demonstrated a real commitment to our business.

“They were personable, pragmatic and asked insightful questions about the business, enabling them to structure the right financial package for our needs.”