FRP supports Inspirit Capital to secure £10.75m ABL package

FRP Advisory has announced its Debt Advisory team has supported private equity firm Inspirit Capital on its acquisition of UK agricultural and groundcare equipment distributor Spaldings Limited.

Led by partner Nick Grainger, it advised London-based Inspirit through a competitive debt auction process, raising £10.75m in asset-based finance that will help fund the purchase and meet ongoing working capital requirements.

Inspirit engaged FRP in January 2022 to maximise debt availability to support the firm’s plans to acquire Spaldings – a £30m -turnover Lincoln-based firm – from the Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Corporation.

It said the nature of Spaldings’ carve-out from the Marubeni Corporation’s portfolio “perfectly aligned” with Inspirit’s focus on investing in businesses with strategic and operational complexities.

FRP said its team identified a range of suitable capital partners that would meet Inspirit’s requirement for a debt structure that leveraged against Spaldings’ existing assets, and led a focused process to select a shortlist of lenders that led to Leumi ABL being selected as the preferred financing partner.

Having mandated Leumi, it then continued to advise Inspirit through the process to completion.

Grainger said: “Inspirit came to us with a challenge of identifying a lender that would offer a debt structure that leveraged against Spaldings’ extensive assets. Leumi is the perfect partner – providing a market-leading, highly competitive solution that ticks every one of Inspirit’s boxes.

“This deal not only provides Inspirit with the backing to press ahead with the acquisition, but also clearly demonstrates the scale of opportunity within the market for bespoke funding solutions, for those who can identify the right backers. With this deal complete, we’re excited to see how Spaldings continues to grow with Inspirit’s support.”

Will Stamp, founding partner at Inspirit Capital, added: “Nick and the FRP team have been true partners to us from day one. They completely understood our requirements and preferences, and quickly brought a range of excellent funding options to the table.

“This deal aligns with our objective of using our capital and expertise to help unlock the potential of businesses that are no long core to a parent company’s strategic objectives. We’re now looking forward to working with Spalding’s management team to help put a new growth strategy into action.”

BDB Pitmans provided legal advice on the deal, whilst Lambert Smith Hampton acted as property valuers.