Rcapital, the London based private investor, has made two significant growth investments in online retailing specialist Summit Media and Hotelcare, the UK’s largest outsourced hotel services business.
The two deals demonstrate Rcapital’s ability to recognise potential in opportunities that traditional investors may not consider, complete transactions quickly and deploy operational support immediately on completion of deals. Since Rcapital’s involvement in the companies, both Summit Media and Hotelcare have seen sharp growth.
Summit Media
Summit Media offers consulting, online marketing and sophisticated eCommerce services to major retailing brands including Argos, Reckitt Benckiser, Hobbs, Homebase, Carpetright, and 3Mobile – and delivered over £500 million of online sales for its clients in 2014. The business had made a substantial investment into digital technology to enhance its product offering and enable the company to strengthen its position as market leader. To take the new service to market, Summit Media required funding in an accelerated timeframe.
Moving quickly to understand the scale of the opportunity, Rcapital recognised its potential and provided funding to support both the short-term working capital and long-term growth aspirations of the business. With Rcapital’s financial and operational support, Summit Media has experienced rapid growth, enabling the company to deploy its new technology and ensure it has the resources to win new clients. Jamie Constable, CEO of Rcapital, said: “We often see great management teams and we often view great technology, but to come across them both in the same company is rare. It feels like we are on an incredible, exciting journey that is only just beginning.”
Hotelcare
Hotelcare is the UK’s largest provider of outsourced cleaning services to the hotel industry, cleaning over 9 million hotel rooms each year. The business was subject to a management buy-in in 2014, following which it experienced swift growth. However, additional funding was required to enable the company to move ahead with an even more aggressive growth strategy, both organically and through acquisition. Rcapital acquired a material stake in Hotelcare, providing sufficient funding to roll out new lean management processes and continue to train its 3000 strong workforce. Rcapital is currently working with Hotelcare management to pursue potential consolidation in the sector.
“We are very excited about having invested in the largest business in a sector where we see significant organic growth as the UK’s largest hotel groups continue to move to outsource their cost base. We also see sector consolidation in the medium term and are pursuing an acquisitive strategy.”
Chris Campbell, Investment Director, Rcapital