Duke Capital Limited has announced the successful exit of its investment in Meteor HoldCo Limited, the 100% owner of Fabrikat (Nottingham) Ltd ("Fabrikat"), a UK manufacturer of street lighting columns and guard rails. The exit has delivered an impressive IRR of 36% for Duke, with potential gains available from future performance-related deferred consideration. This exit comes three years after Duke's financing solution enabled Fabrikat's established management team to become majority equity owners, resulting in significant equity gain in addition to the return on its core private credit investment.
Fabrikat is being acquired by Metalogalva - Irmãos Silvas, SA, a Portuguese company with operations spanning 14 countries and four continents. Duke had invested a total of £6.2 million in Fabrikat to date, and this marks the eighth exit for Duke since its inception, providing the company with additional liquidity for new and follow-on investment opportunities.
Neil Johnson, CEO of Duke Capital, highlighted Fabrikat as a success story for Duke, emphasizing how their capital allowed long-standing employees to become majority equity owners and continue to prove themselves as great stewards of the business. Paul Allen, CFO of Fabrikat, expressed gratitude towards Duke Capital for enabling significant growth and for allowing the senior management team to keep 70% of the business they had crafted.
Duke Capital's website provides a full list of its current Partners and a case study relating to their partnership with Fabrikat, offering additional insight into how they supported the company's growth strategy. Duke Capital is a leading provider of hybrid capital solutions for SME business owners in Europe and North America, combining the best features of both equity and debt. Since 2017, Duke has provided unique long-term financing, eliminating re-financing risk and the necessity for a short-term exit, while aligning its returns to grow with the success of the business.