Computacenter

Transaction Background

In 1985 Graphite Capital provided expansion capital to Computacenter, a Swindon-based reseller of personal computers. The company had been founded four years earlier as a specialist supplier of PC-based systems for corporate users. We provided further finance in the next two years to fund the continued organic expansion of the business.

Deal Attractions

The founders had been extremely successful in previous careers and had committed substantial finance and resource to the business. Their skills and strategic vision allowed the company to take advantage of the rapid growth in PC system sales resulting from falling hardware costs and the development of networking technology. By focusing on market share gains, Computacenter aimed to establish itself as one of the dominant players in a fast expanding market.

Achievements

Computacenter established itself as the market leader
it developed a national office network employing 2,500 staff by 1997; all growth was organic and all staff development was internal
it established direct operations in France and Germany and led a global joint venture of corporate resellers
in the year before its flotation Computacenter had sales of £1.1 billion and operating profit of £52 million

Exit

the company floated in May 1998 capitalised at £1.1 billion
we achieved a multiple of 13 times our cost of investment on flotation
we continue to hold shares in the listed company
our IRR from the investment currently exceeds 45 per cent