National Road Planing strengthens UK grip

National Road Planing has spent £2m on new plant to strengthen its position in the specialist road planing market, where it now has a 25% share.
"We are the biggest UK player and the second-largest in Europe," said chief executive Jonathan Wells, who staged a management buy-in for the Rand Group 20 months ago. National Road Planing is one of Rand's five operating divisions. It is headed up by Mick Johnson and margins are running at 5%.
Rand's other four construction divisions all operate within the geographic regions of the East Midlands and Yorkshire.
Wells is delighted with the transformation he has achieved since arriving as part of a BIMBO (buy-in, management buy-out). The main debt has already been halved.
"Two years ago I was an employee and I was clueless about the financial intricacies of ownership. But I had this ambition," Wells said. "We avoided a venture capital-backed takeover. Instead, three banks have given us a pure debt-funded deal, which was possible because the four vendors, who formed the group 30 years ago, left some money in as loan notes.
"A percentage of the value was taken out immediately while the rest is paid out over an agreed period as the various loan notes become due. This is the best route as you are in total control."
The two shareholders are Wells and Mark Eustace, who has been the group's finance director for five years. Turnover, steady at £36m for the three years prior to Wells' arrival, is projected to hit £52m in the current year, then £62m in the 12 months after that.