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PRIVATE EQUITY
 

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Styles & Wood £96.7m IPO

Aberdeen Asset Managers Private Equity has announced the successful IPO of retail fit-out and property services business, Styles&Wood Holdings Limited. The business was admitted to the Official List of the London Stock Exchange on the 7th of November 2006 with an initial market capitalization of £96.7m.

Aberdeen originally supported the £28m secondary buyout of Styles&Wood in May 2004, and in December 2005 completed a successful newco recapitalization. The flotation represented a full exit for Aberdeen's investors and generated a return in excess of 8x cost.

Styles & Wood provides a full range of property related services from planning and fit-out to ongoing property management services. Clients include John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Tesco. Turnover for the year to December 2006 is forecast to be £264m.

The disposal of Aberdeen's investment in Styles & Wood is the latest in a series of transactions that have allowed the group to report significant returns to its private equity clients. The returns on the sale of Styles & Wood puts Aberdeen's current Limited Partnership Fund on course to generate strong returns for its clients. Aberdeen is planning to raise its second Limited Partnership Fund during 2007.

Francesco Santinon, Head of Investment - Private Equity, commented :

"We're delighted with the return achieved on our investment in Styles & Wood, and wish the business every future success as a publicly-listed company. Since we first invested we have been confident in the management's ability to develop and exploit their niche in what is a highly competitive space. It is particularly pleasing to achieve such a rewarding exit in an environment that has proved tough for other VCs to successfully IPO investments. It highlights to institutional investors that when selecting private equity managers they not only need to choose a manager able to source a pipeline of attractive opportunities but also one that has the team and experience to grow value and realise investment".

Francesco Santinon managed Aberdeen's exit from its investment in Styles & Wood. Aberdeen was advised by Investec, who acted as the Nominated Adviser and Broker to the issue.