Close Brothers Private Equity leads funding for £50m MBO of Advanced Composite Materials Manufacturer

Close Brothers Private Equity has provided the equity funding to facilitate the £50m management buy-out of SP Systems Ltd ("SP") from its Nasdaq-listed owner Zoltek Companies Inc.

SP is the UK's premier manufacturer of advance composite materials used in the construction of racing yachts and is the world's largest supplier of composites to the wind energy industry. This is SP's key market, world-wide construction of wind farms to generate electricity is growing at c30% pa as world economies strive to implement renewable energy strategies and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

SP employs around 250 people at its prestigious new manufacturing facility at Newport, Isle of Wight and is constructing a second facility in Spain. The company turns over in excess of £40m pa and has long-term supply agreements in place with the world's leading wind turbine manufacturers.

SP plans to capitalise on its market leading technology to secure its No.1 position in the wind market and to build a presence in the specialist automotive field. It has already won contracts to supply materials for the construction of two luxury sports cars.

The transaction will be financed by way of £21.5m of equity funding from CBPE and debt of [£xm] provided by [banklender].

Commenting on the transaction, Richard Lott, Partner at CBPE, who joins SP's board as a Non-Executive Director said: "We have known of SP and its reputation for several years and are very pleased to have this opportunity to back Paul Rudling and his team. They have built a market-leading business and have the capacity to deliver significantly higher sales as their markets grow."

Paul Rudling, Managing Director of SP added: "This transaction was completed within 6 weeks of us first meeting Close. Their enthusiasm and commitment to meeting our deadline was apparent right from the start. They have delivered what they promised.

Our business is growing rapidly and we are looking forward to an independent future with Close alongside as our investment partner".