Innovative Bristol design consultancy Kinneir Dufort has been bought by its management in a multi-million pound deal that will pave the way for further expansion.
The firm, which launched in 1977, is among the UK’s top industrial design agencies and has been responsible for many iconic products over the years such as the UK’s first pocket cellphone as well as the original washing machine detergent ball.
Its roster of global blue-chip clients includes Roche, Unilever, Shell, Smith & Nephew, Coca-Cola, Thales and Mars and two-thirds of earnings come from exports.
The management buyout (MBO), which has been backed by London-based Mobeus Equity Partners, passes ownership of the business to its current client services director Merle Hall and design director Craig Wightman, who originally joined the firm as its fifth employee.
It is the third change of ownership for the firm since it was founded by Ross Kinneir and Francis Dufort in 1977. A previous MBO by five directors in 2002 fuelled its growth and development to a position where it now employs 75 people at its city centre HQ, a technology centre in Fishponds and an innovation base in Cambridge.
They work in areas ranging from research, innovation, product design, brand and packaging, to human factors, UX (user experience) and technology. Its sector expertise spans medical and consumer, industrial, scientific and defence.
The MBO is a high-profile transaction for Bristol’s professional advisory community with Momentum Corporate Finance and law firm Osborne Clarke advising Kinneir Dufort’s management and DAC Beachcroft working with Mobeus.
Financial details have not been disclosed but Mobeus tends to back deals valued in the high single-digit millions.
Mobeus provided a single funding mixture of equity and debt to fund the transaction, which represents its first buyout using institutional funding following recent changes to the VCT rules.
Under the transition, which has been planned for several years, Merle Hall takes over as managing director supported by Craig Wightman, who expands his role to executive design director. Michael Norris will continue to lead the business’s finance function and the leadership team will be supported by an experienced team of heads of sector and expertise.
Merle Hall said: “We are privileged and delighted to be able to launch a regenerated version of Kinneir Dufort. We’re both immensely proud of what Kinneir Dufort has achieved to date and are equally excited about realising our potential and achieving greater things in the future.”
Mobeus partner Richard Babington, who originated and led the transaction, said: “I met Merle, Craig and Michael in 2015 as they were developing their ideas for the MBO and it has been a real privilege to work with them through to the culmination of the buyout.
“Britain is a world leader in design expertise and Kinneir Dufort is an integral part of its heritage. I am incredibly excited about the business’s future under its new ownership as KD 3.0.”
Craig Wightman added: “We felt that Richard and the Mobeus team instantly understood the business, as well as our ambition and vision for it.”
Freddie Bacon also worked on the transaction for Mobeus.
Mobeus was advised by DAC Beachcroft (John Williams, Michael Pearce, Karen Jensen and Hannah Gordon), accountants RSM (Rebecca Guerin, James Killing, Rob Carlton and Steve Jacob), CIL Management Consultants (Jon Whiteman and David Skuse) and Highwire Consulting (Annie Gray).
Kinneir Dufort management was advised by Momentum (Rob Crews, Ali Boorman, Ross Bradley and Matt Stafford) and Osborne Clarke (David Ferris and Chris Yeo).
Richard Babington has worked on a number of deals in the South West and South Wales including the 2009, £13m management buy-in of Devon foodservice firm Pasta King and the £17m, 2007 buyout of Peter’s Food Service – best known for its pies and pastry products – based near Newport.
Pictured: Merle Hall and Craig Wightman
