Abingdon
Deal Status: Exited, 2005. Special Situations
Abingdon is a carpet manufacturer and was a subsidiary of US parent Shaw Carpets, which entered into administration in 2003. With £40 million in turnover, Abingdon was a substantial business that needed a solution to technical insolvency.
EPIC Private Equity backed the incumbent management team and invested £2 million. EPIC Private Equity also negotiated an £8 million bank facility from RBS.
Via the administration process, EPIC Private Equity was able to reduce the output of the business to its core competency of carpet manufacturing. Manufacturing operations were consolidated from seven sites to one core site in Wales, achieving cost savings and simultaneously eliminating excess capacity.
In January 2005, EPIC Private Equity sold its stake, achieving an IRR of 68.9%.
