The Bristol offices of law firms TLT and Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) have advised on a multi-million pound deal that will drive innovation and create jobs at a West of England car and motorbike wheel manufacturer.
London-based Puma Investments is injecting £3.6m of private equity into Dymag, a pioneering British designer and manufacturer of carbon hybrid automotive and motorcycle wheels. 
The deal will enable to Chippenham-based Dymag to expand its operations and fast-track product development. The firm, which employs 32 people, said the investment would lead to a “significant” number of new jobs and introduce further innovations to its manufacturing processes to meet growing demand for carbon hybrid wheel technology. It also plans to move to new premises.
TLT advised Dymag while WBD worked with the private equity team of Puma Investments.
The TLT team was led by corporate partner Jon Gill with support from corporate associate Bryan Shaw, corporate solicitor Matthew Howells and advice from legal director Mark Braude in the firm’s specialist tax team.
The WBD corporate team was led by partner Leon Miller and included Bristol-based associate Alex Fergus.
Dymag CEO Chris Shelley said: “These are really exciting times for our business. We see significant opportunities to grow globally and to drive further innovation into our business, and the Puma private equity team has the expertise and passion to help us deliver that.
“TLT proved to be an excellent partner for Dymag in delivering the transaction and we are grateful for their advice and hands-on management from start to end.”
Jon Gill at TLT added: “We were delighted to support such an exciting British manufacturer as Dymag as it seeks to disrupt the global automotive market. The transaction demonstrates that, despite uncertainty with regard to Brexit, private equity firms remain keen to support innovative UK businesses as they look to expand internationally.”
WBD’s Leon Miller said the transaction was the second it had advised Puma on in the space of two months.
“We look forward to working with the team again as they continue to grow their investment portfolio,” he said.
Dymag was launched in 1974 to develop die-cast magnesium wheels for Formula 1, IndyCar, Rally/RAID, Moto GP, Superbikes and Isle of Man TT vehicles.
It later made forged magnesium wheels, forged aluminium wheels and developed lightweight carbon composite motorcycle and auto wheels.
The company was re-launched in 2011 following a buyout by CEO Chris Shelley and other key former employees and currently works with several of the world’s leading performance original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and has a growing aftermarket presence.
