Close exit at Hillarys as new backers support future growth

Change Capital Partners (CCP), the independently owned London-based private equity firm targeting mid-market deals in the retail and consumer goods sector, has backed a £115m secondary buyout of Hillarys Group, the UK's leading made-to-measure window blinds specialist.

Since the original management buyout in 2001, which was supported by Close Brothers Private Equity, the company's turnover has increased from £55m to £85m and it now has a 22 percent market share.

The latest transaction is seen by management as an integral part of the continued growth and evolution of Hillarys which currently employs about 1,000 people at its bases in Nottingham and Washington Tyne-&-Wear.

Group chief executive James Nicholson said: "Over the past three years Hillarys has seen unprecedented success and we believe that the marketplace offers us further opportunity for expansion and development.  We are proud to have grown our sales to over one million made-to-measure blinds last year and of reaching a record 10,000 customers every week with one of the widest ranges on the market."

Richard Sanders, a director of Catalyst Corporate Finance, which advised on the deal, commented: "Hillarys is a fantastic success story and James, his management team and the whole employee base deserve every credit for this position."