Patron Capital, the pan-European institutional investor focused on property-backed investments, has confirmed its acquisition of Top 50 independent fuel retailer Motor Fuels Group Limited (MFG) in a joint venture with a new management team backed by oil industry veteran, Alasdair Locke.
MFG is the fifth largest chain of independent petrol filling stations in the country. It owns and operates 58 mostly freehold petrol filling stations and associated convenience retailing stores located throughout the UK.
Patron provided the majority of the equity for the transaction alongside Alasdair Locke and
members of the management team. Debt finance was provided by Investec Growth &
Acquisition Finance, part of Investec Bank plc. Financial terms of the transaction are not
disclosed.
The Board of MFG now comprises forecourt sector investors William Bannister and Tom
Biggart of Scottish Capital Group in the executive positions of chief executive officer and
chief investment officer, with Alasdair Locke and Tim Allan of Scottish Capital Group
assuming the roles of non-executive chairman and director respectively. In addition, to
support Patron Capital and the MFG management team’s plans to grow the business via
capital expenditure and acquisitions, MFG has agreed to hire Jeremy Clarke as its managing
director. Jeremy will join MFG once he has fulfilled his contractual obligations to Murco UK
as its marketing director.
Commenting on the acquisition, Stephen Green, Patron Capital’s senior partner,
Special Situations, said:“This transaction is an excellent example of the real estate-backed operating business investments that Patron Capital seeks, with significant opportunities for growth in a
fragmented and consolidating sector.”
Alasdair Locke said:“With the experienced management team we have assembled and the powerful backing of Patron Capital and Investec Bank, we are confident that we will significantly grow the size
and performance of MFG over the coming years.”
New CEO William Bannister added:“MFG is a great business that we see forming a sound platform for significant expansion in the UK fuel forecourt sector. These are challenging times but I am sure that with the strong financial backing we enjoy and with our new, high-calibre management team, we have acombination that has tremendous potential.”
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