London, 6 April 2017 Cairngorm Capital Partners is pleased to have closed successfully its second fund – Cairngorm Capital II – at its £107.5 million hard cap. The fund, which was oversubscribed, is now fully operational. Cairngorm Capital has been backed by a consortium of leading, long-term, international institutional investors, consisting of several prestigious European funds of funds and US university endowments. Cairngorm Capital is particularly gratified that each of the institutional investors in its first fund increased their commitment to Fund II. Additionally, in line with Cairngorm Capital’s investment philosophy, a significant investment was made by the firm’s principals. [...]

London, 10 March 2017 Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) is pleased to announce further investment in Stevenswood Trade Centres Limited (Stevenswood), to enable Stevenswood’s acquisition of Truemans Holdings Limited (Truemans). This transaction advances Stevenswood’s ambition to develop a national network of trade counters and completes strategic gaps in its presence in England. The new combined group will continue to be headquarted in Livingston and will have over 30 branches across the UK, generating revenues of over £40m and employing over 165 people. A wholly owned family business established in 1997, Truemans is a rapidly growing trade counter group, operating [...]

London, 27 February 2017 Cairngorm Capital is delighted to announce the appointment of Stuart Whiteford as Investment Manager, extending the firm’s capacity for new investments. Stuart joins from the EuroAsia Special Assets Group at Goldman Sachs, where he was an Executive Director involved in strategy and investment for a range of European opportunities. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Stuart was a member of Citigroup’s UK Investment Banking Team, advising companies and private equity investors on mergers, acquisitions and equity capital market transactions. As an Investment Manager at Cairngorm Capital, he will source new opportunities, execute transactions and work in partnership [...]

London, 15 February 2017 Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) is pleased to announce its further investment in Polyframe Group Limited (Polyframe), the UK’s leading manufacturer of trade windows and doors, to facilitate Polyframe’s acquisition and merger with Customade Group Limited (Customade). The enlarged group, with revenues in excess of £100 million, will trade as Customade and now has a comprehensive product range across aluminium windows, composite entry doors and PVCu products. It operates nationwide, with almost 900 employees across 10 manufacturing facilities extending from Scotland to the South-West. Established in 1980, Customade is a specialist manufacturer of high-quality aluminium [...]

Established in 1997 and headquartered in Livingston, Stevenswood Limited (Stevenswood) is the largest distributor of windows and doors in Scotland. It operates a network of 15 trade centres across Scotland, supplying a full range of windows, doors and kitchens to the installer market. Cairngorm Capital has partnered with founder managers Ron Hepburn and Duncan Murray in acquiring the business from the Business Growth Fund. Ron and Duncan will continue to lead the business, while John Declerck, Alex Bayliss and Andrew Steel will join the Board. As part of this transaction, Polyframe Group Limited (Polyframe), another Cairngorm Capital portfolio company, [...]

London, 17 October 2016 Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP (Cairngorm Capital) is pleased to announce the acquisition of The Window Bureau Limited (WB Group) by Polyframe Group Limited (Polyframe). Established in 1981, WB Group is a leading manufacturer of a range of GRP composite doors, PVCu door infill panels and PVCu windows, which it supplies to the UK trade sector. The company operates from a state-of-art 70,000 square foot production facility in Birtley, Co. Durham employing just over 100 people. This is a proprietary, off-market transaction prompted by the retirement of WB Group’s founder and chairman, Kevin Craggs, and is the [...]

London, 8 July 2016 Cairngorm Capital is pleased to announce that it has made a significant majority investment in Polyframe Group Limited (Polyframe), in support of a management buy-out by its executive team. Established in 1992 in Halifax, Yorkshire, Polyframe is the UK’s largest independent manufacturer and distributor of trade windows and doors. It operates four manufacturing facilities producing windows and composite doors for the installer market and has 12 trade centres distributing its products to smaller builders or local tradesmen. Collectively Polyframe employs 470 staff across the UK and will generate revenues in excess of £50m in 2016. The [...]

London, 18 November 2015 Cairngorm Capital is delighted to announce the appointment of Alex Bayliss and John Naylor-Leyland as Investment Directors, further bolstering the firm’s capacity for new investments. Alex brings extensive experience of investing in mid market manufacturing and business services companies. He joins from SEA Equity where he was a founding Partner and board member of portfolio company, Vacuum Furnace Engineering. Prior to SEA Equity, Alex worked with Cairngorm Capital’s Managing Partner, Andrew Steel, at H.I.G. Capital in London, where he was involved in numerous equity investments and bolt-on acquisitions. John joins from Disruptive Capital, where he was [...]

London, 1 September 2015 Cairngorm Capital, the private equity investor launched by former H.I.G. executive, Andrew Steel, is pleased to announce that it has successfully closed its maiden fund – Cairngorm Capital I – at £52.5 million. The fund held a first and final close at target and is now fully operational. Cairngorm Capital will invest in businesses within cash generative niches in industrial and business-to-business markets in the UK lower mid-market. The fund will build value in businesses through operational performance improvements drawing on the extensive experience of its investment professionals and network of industry experts. Cairngorm Capital staff [...]