Duke Royalty Limited has announced an increase in its equity stake in United Glass Group (UGG) from 30.0% to 73.8% through a £2.9 million secondary share purchase from existing shareholders. UGG is a group of architectural glass processing companies operating in the UK market since the early 1980s. This investment aligns with Duke's vision to deepen its engagement with its high-performing portfolio companies, reaffirming its confidence in UGG's potential for sustained success and reinforcing its commitment to the company's growth trajectory.
The transaction rewards UGG's management team for their strong financial performance and ensures significant potential future value remains available to them from a further exit event. Duke also retains the right to provide additional senior secured debt funding to UGG to finance its future acquisitions, with Duke's current debt exposure to UGG being £12.0m. UGG has a pipeline of attractive acquisition targets, underpinning Duke's confidence in the company's long-term growth potential.
Neil Johnson, CEO of Duke Capital, expressed confidence in UGG's growth prospects, stating, "Their long-standing track record and strong potential for future growth means that it makes perfect sense to increase our equity stake in the business." Mark Harrison, Managing Director of UGG, emphasized the company's determination to continue growing the business both organically and via M&A to generate additional future equity value for all shareholders.
Duke Royalty Limited is a leading provider of hybrid capital solutions for SME business owners in Europe and North America, focusing on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for shareholders. The company eliminates re-financing risk and the necessity for a short-term exit by providing unique long-term financing and aligning its returns to grow with the success of the business.