The Growth Fund to provide capital and expertise for truck repairer’s ambitions
Private equity investors are continuing their foray into trucking and truck services with the confirmation that mid-size firm The Growth Fund is backing truck and trailer accident repair giant Royan.
The move comes eight months after rival AMA Group’s truck repair consolidation and expansion initiative gained industry attention with the purchase of Wales.
“The Royan Group is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Growth Fund, a Sydney based private equity firm,” the firm says in a public statement.
“The new partnership launches the next chapter in Royan’s 75-year history as the leading commercial vehicle repairer in Australia.
“The Royan, Andrews & Church families will continue as owners in the Royan Group, with Bill Andrews assuming the role of Chairman and David Church CEO of the Group.
“The new partnership will provide growth capital to expand our network, invest in industry leading equipment, improve the services we offer our customers and insurance partners and provide new opportunities for our staff.
“In addition, The Growth Fund will provide the senior management team the support to accelerate growth and enable the business to expand into geographical markets we currently do not service.
“We look forward to updating you on our exciting expansion plans when they are suitably advanced and adding to our current network of eight branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wagga, Dubbo, Newcastle, Wodonga and Dandenong.
“In due course, senior management and company representatives will be in touch to reaffirm our commitment to continue to provide all our stakeholders the best quality heavy vehicle repairs possible.
“We look forward to continuing our tradition of, Keeping Australia’s Transport on the Move, well into the future.”
Read how Royan Group snapped up Polans, here
The value of the move, which coincides with Anchorage Capital’s eventually successful tilt at AHG Refrigerated Logistics, is undisclosed.
TGF is not a complete stranger to the broad transport and logistics sphere, having bought a stake in specialised container equipment firm SCF Containers in 2007 before selling it in 2012 to a management buyout vehicle funded and underwritten by Intermediate Capital Group.
It also has an interest in the portable fuel tank firm, Fuelfix since December 2010.
TGF managing partner for Queensland and South Australia Scott Greck is an alumnus of TNT Express.
Royan, meanwhile, was one of National Transport Insurance’s (NTI’s) partners in the restoration of its custom-built Ford Jailbar truck that featured at this year’s Brisbane Truck Show and which has helped raise more than $113,000 for motor neurone disease (MND) research.
Bruce Rock Engineering (BRE) hooked up with Royan Group four years ago as part of the trailer-maker’s own expansion push into the eastern states.
Comment has been sought from TGF.