Epiris Fund II announces the acquisition of The Club Company

POSTED 18 May 2018

Epiris today announces that Epiris Fund II, advised by Epiris LLP, has acquired The Club Company, the UK’s leading country club operator, from a company affiliated with Lone Star Funds. This is Fund II’s third investment.

The Club Company operates 13 country clubs predominantly located in central and southern England. The clubs have over 40,000 members and offer a range of facilities, including championship-standard golf courses, state-of-the-art health and fitness facilities, swimming pools and tennis courts, as well as bars, restaurants and accommodation.

The company is led by Thierry Delsol, who has been CEO since 2005, and CFO Paul Stephens. Steve Burns, who is CEO of Hollywood Bowl plc, has been appointed non-executive Chairman.

Bill Priestley, Chief Investment Partner of Epiris, said:

“We are delighted to announce this third investment from Epiris Fund II. The opportunity here is exactly what we look for: a high-quality, cash-generative business with a strong management team with whom we can partner to drive operational effectiveness and investment-led growth. We are excited to be working with Thierry and his team to transform both the growth and the scale of the business.”

Ian Wood, Investment Partner at Epiris, said:

“The Club Company has some of the best country clubs in the UK. Over the past twelve months we have developed a plan to build on this robust base by investing in the facilities at the existing clubs along with acquiring new sites. We are excited to have Steve Burns joining the board where he will work closely with Thierry and Paul.”

Thierry Delsol, CEO of The Club Company said:

“In Epiris we are thrilled to have found an ambitious and experienced partner which shares both our vision for the future of the business and our passion for high operating standards. Their support and insight means that we can move ahead with our growth plans with confidence.”

The transaction is led for Epiris LLP by Bill Priestley, Ian Wood, Arvind Tewari and Daniel Frazer.

Epiris is advised by Deloitte Corporate Finance, Ropes & Gray and PwC.

#Ends#

For Epiris LLP please contact:

Andrew Honnor, Matthew Goodman, Robert White, Greenbrook Communications
+44 (0)20 7952 2000

Nicholas Board, Epiris
+44 (0)20 7306 3902

About Epiris LLP
Epiris LLP is a top-decile* private equity firm which invests in opportunities to transform businesses in partnership with exceptional management teams. We target control positions in UK-centric businesses with an enterprise value of between £75 million and £500 million, deploying between £40 million and £150 million of equity.

Fund I
Since 2011 Epiris has invested £1 billion in buyouts and loan-to-own debt investments in respect of which it has delivered a gross IRR of 38%*. Synthetic net returns from this portfolio are in the top-decile of European private equity funds of comparable vintages.

Fund II
Epiris is currently seeking investment opportunities for Epiris Fund II, an institutional private equity fund raised in 2017. Recent investments by Fund II include Time Inc. UK, the UK’s largest consumer magazine publisher, and Portals De La Rue, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of “substrate” for banknotes.

For further information please visit www.epiris.co.uk.

Issued by Epiris LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

* As at 30 September 2017. Gross IRR does not reflect adjustments for investment management and administration costs. Comparator data supplied by Preqin. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

About The Club Company
The Club Company owns and operates thirteen country clubs in the UK, combining a traditional golf environment with state-of-the-art health and fitness facilities for the whole family. The clubs offer a variety of facilities, including gyms, group fitness studios, swimming pools, wet spas, crèches, health and beauty, tennis, championship golf courses, bars, restaurants and lounges. Five of the Clubs offer accommodation on site and the company has around 750 permanent employees.

Epiris Partner Bill Priestley, in his former role at LGV Capital, successfully invested in The Club Company, then known as Clubhaus, in 2004. The business was acquired by Boundary Capital, an Irish private equity firm, in 2006 and then by a company affiliated with Lone Star Funds in 2015.

For further information please visit www.theclubcompany.com.