Andrew Gale, CEO of the business supplies distributor evo, has lead a management buy-out, enabled by a refinancing package through the business’s existing lending syndicate of Leumi ABL (Leumi) and Close Invoice Finance Limited (Close Brothers).
The deal facilitates a successful exit for funds managed by Endless LLP, evo’s long-standing PE shareholder.
Headquartered in Normanton, the evo group has grown significantly under Endless’s ownership and is now made up of six different brands, generating in excess of £500m of sales and employing 2,000 people.
It provides sourcing, storage, specialist and value-added fulfilment services to resellers, consumers, large public sector bodies and corporate organisations and offers the full range of business-critical supplies from everyday essentials, facility supplies, paper, furniture and technology.
Andrew will continue as Chief Executive supported by Jon Maxted, evo CFO, and the evo Trading Board and team.
With evo continuing its journey with both Leumi and Close Brothers, the refinancing marks evo’s third deal with Leumi and second with Close Brothers. The facilities provided are an £80m invoice finance facility and £13m in term loans.
Commenting on the MBO and refinancing, Andrew Gale, evo CEO, said: “From Day 1 as Chief Executive the goal was to materially transform the trading results of evo and to enable an exit for Endless. Over the last two years as CEO, EBITDA has doubled with record EBTIDA results delivered in both FY24 and FY25, which has now enabled an exit for Endless to be delivered.
“Endless have been a fantastic investor in evo over the past 16 years and together we have navigated this period with the support of some high-quality individuals. One constant has been the steady and resolute support of Garry Wilson, Endless Group Managing Partner. We thank Garry for his counsel over the years and the skill and expertise of the Endless team.
“Peter Yendell, Andy Ross, Mathew Deering, James Woolley all deserve a mention. In the last couple of years, the results have improved under the watch of David Isaacs, Endless Director, who deserves great credit for both challenging and supporting me. With a 16-year Endless training course behind me, I’m now much better equipped to lead evo – so thank you.
“The evo business has made major strides over the last couple of years and we are excited about the opportunities in front of us. This refinancing and transaction unlock the opportunity for evo to take on fresh investment to support our ambitions in terms of product and geographical expansion, all within a balanced multi-sales channel model.”
David Isaacs, Endless Director, said: “It has been a pleasure working with evo in recent years and to see the business go from strength to strength. There have been improvements in all areas of the business with record EBITDA being delivered, the product offering constantly evolving and an extension of its route to markets.
“In addition, we have supported evo with several successful acquisitions over the years, which in culmination have embedded evo as a recognised market leader and positioned the business well for its next phase of growth.
“Under Andrew’s excellent stewardship, we strongly believe that the business will continue on its positive trajectory and create wider opportunities for growth and investment. We wish the whole management team all the best for the future.”
John Walsh, Regional Sales Director (Leeds and North-East), Leumi, said: “We are very pleased to be continuing to work with Andrew and the evo team.
“We have a shared ‘no nonsense’ approach to business and we are pleased to be able to Lead the Club funding to enable the MBO to take place and we are looking forward to working with the evo business and Close Brothers in the years to come. Our ability to provide a flexible range of ABL facilities was key to enabling this transaction to be completed.”
Andrew Metcalfe, Head of Corporate Sales, Close Brothers, said: “We are delighted to support Andrew and the evo team with the transaction.
“The new facilities provided will support the MBO and provide the liquidity for the continued growth trajectory of the business. We look forward to a long-term partnership with the management team and our lending partner Leumi ABL.”
Endless were advised by Walker Morris LLP. Leumi and Close were advised by DLA. Andrew Gale was advised by Peter Considine, Finance Eagle Limited and BDO.
