Paul McCreadie recently chatted to Real Deals as part of their Deal in Focus series to discuss how Tusker was able to secure such a fantastic result of £300m on their sale to Lloyds Banking Group. Read the full article here: https://realdeals.eu.com/article/deal-in-focus-how-eci-scored-300m-on-tusker-sale
Here are a few highlights from the piece:
Backing the subscription trend
“Through our investment in Tusker, we were backing quite a few early-stage market trends. There’s been a shift over the last decade towards renting stuff rather than buying it by simply paying a single monthly fee to gain access to everything – from music to films to even cars – which is what we saw growing strongly six to seven years ago. Consumers welcome one single bill which covers their insurance, road taxes, and maintenance.”
The growth in green
Customers are increasingly looking to go green with electric vehicles, and one of the most cost effective ways into the world of EV motoring is through salary sacrifice schemes, which drove a lot of demand at Tusker during ECI’s investment. “We’ve invested in markets that we think have strong tailwinds which saw us through other issues when they were thrown at us. Lloyds came out very strong in their desire to acquire the business in that process as it seemed to fit into their strategy to reach net zero.”
Thinking about exit at entry
“Exits are something investors think about very early on. This effectively means we build up relationships from the start. The car leasing industry is quite close-knit, and the players know each other well. Tusker’s CEO has known Lloyds and other potential trade acquirers for some time, so the sale didn’t happen overnight. Lloyds was the perfect home for the business – more than just the price, the asset should be the right cultural fit and possess the right thoughts about the culture of the business.”
Read the full article here. If you would like to find out how we helped Tusker deliver its 6.2x return or to talk about the growth potential of your business, please reach out here.
