Six years after Next Capital snapped up SilverChef’s hospitality finance business, the mid-market buyout firm is asking investors for more time to allow the non bank lender’s North American expansion plans to play out.
Street Talk can reveal Next Capital is seeking to place SilverChef into a continuation fund, allowing investors the option of rolling into a new vehicle that would house the portfolio company for the next three to four years. Limited partner sources said Next Capital had outlined a strategy to grow organically into the United States, pointing to its recent acquisition of a SilverChef-lookalike business in Canada, called Econolease.
When contacted by Street Talk a company spokesperson declined to comment on specific details of the new vehicle. He noted that a $100 million dividend recapitalisation last year had returned plenty of capital to investors, adding that SilverChef’s topline growth was “strong in Australia and New Zealand.”
“We’re six years in and after growing into New Zealand, then buying one of the major players in Canada, we thought it was time for a reset as we start to move southward into the States,” the spokesperson said. “The majority of our investors plan to roll into the continuation fund and upscale, while a handful have chosen to get some liquidity.”…read full article.
