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MBH Corporation plc acquires Robinsons Caravans

MBH Corporation plc acquires Robinsons Caravans

Robinsons Caravans Ltd, a Midlands caravan and motorhome business which has been trading for more than 50 years, has been acquired by MBH Corporation plc,  a UK public company offering a new approach to SME investment.

Established in 1963, Robinsons is a family-owned business with sites in Chesterfield and Worksop. The company has been acquired for a sum between £7.2m and £8.6m, which includes the net assets of approximately £2.5m.

Robinsons is the 11th company to join MBH and establishes a fifth industry vertical, Leisure, alongside Education, Construction Services, Engineering and Health. The Leisure vertical will be led by Paul Seabridge, CEO of Robinson Caravans.  

Established in 1963, Robinsons sold 1,200 units during its 2019 financial year and generated unaudited revenues of £18m and an EBIT of £1.05m.

The acquisition brings the pro-forma revenues of MBH group portfolio companies to over £125m. MBH, which is based in London and listed on the Frankfurt and Düsseldorf stock exchanges, acquires established, debt-free, profitable small businesses and offers a new approach which aims to benefit both companies and investors.

Business owners exchange their shares for shares in MBH. They retain their autonomy and can grow their business more effectively as part of a plc. Each acquisition creates an immediate uplift in value, due to the difference in valuation between a privately-owned SME and a public company, and each increases earnings per share for investors.

Callum Laing, CEO of MBH Corporation plc:

“We are looking forward to establishing the new ‘Leisure’ industry vertical in MBH Corporation plc. The Robinsons Caravans team bring with them generations of experience in their industry, making them the perfect leaders of the new group. Their ambition to grow through acquisitions allows MBH to support them in one of the many benefits of joining this growth platform, and we look forward to encouraging them to do that as part of the group.”

Paul Seabridge, CEO of Robinsons Caravans said

“The caravan and motorhome industry is very fragmented and as such we felt joining forces with MBH, by joining the group, would provide a better platform to take advantage of this. There are a number of operators and being part of a diversified investment vehicle and having access to the public markets means consolidating some of the operators through acquisitions, providing a tremendous opportunity to quickly take advantage of this - we want to build the number one caravans and motorhome group providing a superb experience for customers and staff as we go on this exciting journey with MBH together.”

According to statistics from the NCC, the UK trade body for the tourer, motorhome, caravan holiday home and residential park home industries, the caravan and camping industry contributes £6bn to the UK economy with 98% of tourer caravans being bought by UK consumers.  The UK motorhome market experienced annual growth rates since 2013, having almost doubled the number of new registrations per year to  over 14,000. 

Existing UK-based companies within MBH Corporation include Parenta, Acacia Training & Development, du Boulay Contracts and Samuel Hobson House.

MBH issues bond to acquire 100% of Robinsons Caravans in line with AgglomerationTM Strategy

In line with MBH’s established Agglomeration strategy, this acquisition is expected to be earnings per share (“EPS”) accretive. Unlike previous acquisitions, MBH has elected to not issue further shares for this transaction, but instead issue a note, equivalent to a bond to complete this transaction.  This decision has been made to preserve the EPS accretive strategy that MBH pursues whilst MBH is currently under leveraged and market conditions are less favourable.  Future acquisitions may involve the use of bonds in combination with equity.

The total consideration for the acquisition is approximately between GBP7.2m and GBP 8.6m (which includes the acquisition of net assets of approximately GBP 2.5m) which is 100% settled by way of an unlisted loan note at the following terms:

•             5 year maturity with principal payable at maturity; and

•             5% coupon rate per annum payable semi annually.

The final consideration amount will be finalised once the audited financials statements have been completed for the years ended 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2020.

Picture: Callum Laing


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