22 Jun 2016 Rutland Backs Walstead to Complete Transformational Deal
Rutland Partners announces it has invested £33.0m into UK-based Walstead Group which, in turn, has helped facilitate the completion of Walstead’s acquisition of Let’s Print Holding AG (“LEYKAM Let’s Print”).
With 2015 revenues of EUR €230 million and 1,600 employees, Walstead is a leading commercial printing group with operations in the UK and Spain. Walstead operates under the Wyndeham brand in the UK, and Eurohueco and Rotocobrhi in Spain.
With revenues of EUR €225 million and 730 employees, LEYKAM Let’s Print is a leading commercial printing group in Central and Eastern Europe. The business operates from two locations in Austria, and one each in Slovenia and Czech Republic. 70% of its revenues are generated from the production of promotional flyers and leaflets for retail and commercial customers in Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
The combined Walstead and LEYKAM Let’s Print group has pro-forma annual revenues of EUR €530 million and employs over 2,300 staff at 12 production facilities in five countries. Walstead will operate 45 web offset and four gravure printing presses which together will process over 600,000 tonnes of paper annually to produce promotional flyers and leaflets, catalogues, magazines and newspaper supplements. Mark Scanlon and Paul Utting will continue to lead the enlarged Walstead Group as chairman and CEO, respectively.
Rutland focuses on special situations where there is complexity and an opportunity to deliver positive change. Walstead’s acquisition of LEYKAM Let’s Print represents an exciting scale opportunity for Rutland to support an experienced management team to maximise the potential of the enlarged group.
Walstead’s acquisition of LEYKAM Let’s Print is the third investment from Rutland Fund III. The transaction was led on behalf of Rutland by Oliver Jones, Michael Reynolds and Jason Birt, with support from Nick Morrill.
Oliver Jones, partner at Rutland, said: “We are delighted to have completed this transformational deal with Walstead. Building on a strong track record, the enlarged group will have the scale and geographic reach to deliver increased pan-European sales and improved operational efficiency. We look forward to working with the Walstead team to maximise the potential of the enlarged group and to support their plans for further growth.”
Mark Scanlon, chairman of Walstead, said: “LEYKAM Let’s Print is an exceptionally well-managed, profitable and successful business which has recently received high levels of investment. It will act as our hub for further expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. This was a complex transaction, and we chose Rutland because of their experience of these situations and their strong appetite to back the Walstead business. We also see plenty of further potential opportunities to progress our strategy in Europe, and I do not believe any other European print group has the ambition or ability to do what we are doing.”