ISIS Fashions 8x Return

ISIS Equity Partners ("ISIS") has disposed of fashion business, Americana International Group ("Americana") to HgCapital ("Hg") in a deal worth £190m.

Americana is a leading fashion business operating the renowned Bench and Hooch brands, worn by the likes of Robbie Williams and Oasis brothers, Noel and Liam Gallagher, as well as being modelled by Huey, the front man for the Fun Lovin' Criminals.

The business, which has both wholesale and retail operations throughout the UK and Europe and a market leading sourcing business in the Far East, was established in 1998 and underwent a £20m management buyout backed by ISIS in 2003. The original deal was led on behalf of ISIS by Andy Gregory and Pete Clarke.

Since that point it has gone from strength to strength with turnover increasing from around £25 million to more than £80 million and the number of employees from 250 to over 350. Bench and Hooch have also developed strong market positions within the UK clothing market and the business has rolled out its expansion programme across Europe, North America and Asia. Based in Manchester, Americana also has significant operations in London, Munich and Shanghai.

Andy Gregory and Mark Turner managed the investment for ISIS. Andy comments: "The company has delivered strong organic growth in the UK, Europe and North America and during our investment both Bench and Hooch have become core brands in their markets. Significant investment has been made in developing a strong operating platform capable of supporting further growth opportunities in all of the trading territories going forward."

The sale to Hg yields a multiple of 8.0x and an IRR of 149% to ISIS's clients. These returns include the proceeds of refinancings that took place in 2004 and 2005.

Andy adds: "This has clearly been an outstanding investment for our institutional clients and underlines our position as the leading consumer markets investor in the lower mid-market. Americana is an excellent business and we wish the team well for the future."

David Brock, Chairman of Americana, said: "Our partnership with ISIS has been a fantastic success and together we've taken Americana to new levels. The management team is now looking forward to another exciting phase in our growth."

Published: 02 March, 2007