Current press releases

06 June 2007

Legal & General Ventures sells Kingfield Heath

Legal & General Ventures ("LGV") has sold its interests in Kingfield Heath Holdings Limited ("Kingfield Heath"), the office supplies wholesaler, to Electra Partners in a deal which valued the whole of Kingfield Heath at in excess of £150m.

Kingfield Heath is a wholesale distributor of office supplies throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company operates from nine warehouses, including a state of the art central warehouse at Magna Park, near Leicester, and is supported by a Head Office in Sheffield.

LGV acquired Kingfield Heath in a MBO valued at £85m in December 2004 backing the existing management team, led by CEO Alan Barclay. At acquisition LGV introduced Richard Martin as Chairman. During LGV's ownership growth was achieved through market share gain due to a highly efficient distribution network, broadening the product range and by entering new market channels. The Company also was consistently featured in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 survey of fastest growing private companies.

Simultaneous with the sale, Kingfield Heath also acquired ISA, a leading computer consumables supplier. This acquisition brought together ISA's expertise in the electronic supplies sector and Kingfield Heath's extensive range in office supplies to create a 'super wholesaler' with a combined turnover of £500m. The new organisation is split into two separate companies. The larger company focuses on the wholesaling of business supplies, combining the substantial expertise and product ranges of both Kingfield Heath and ISA. The second company focuses on direct sales of computer consumables to large corporate and public sector organisations.

The disposal of Kingfield Heath represented the second disposal from the LGV 4 Private Equity Fund Limited Partnership following the sale of Tragus in December 2006.

Commenting on the deal, Michael Mowlem, Managing Director of LGV said:

"LGV is delighted with the outcome of its association with Kingfield Heath. Having been involved with the business for three years, witnessing its continued development in its market place and strong performance in delivering its customers excellent service, it is now time for the next stage of the business' development. The acquisition of ISA Trading is a logical step forward for Kingfield Heath. It offers the opportunity to consolidate in its sectors and is the culmination of a long process of review. We have enjoyed working with the team and wish them and the enlarged business every success for the future."