Real-life lessons from 20 years in the front line of private equity

By Andy Nash

This book offers an exclusive and remarkably candid look at management buyouts and buy-ins from a man who has had an intimate role in 11 such deals since 1991. Acting in a variety of positions – chairman, executive director, non-executive director, personal coach to a managing director – Andy Nash has seen it all, and in this completely updated second edition again makes a serious and potentially turgid subject both easy-reading and unexpectedly entertaining.

MBOs/MBIs are inherently risky, with failure rates being relatively high. This guide is aimed at prospective and existing managers of such a deal. By detailing all the intricacies and blind spots involved, it aims to increase their chances of success. It looks at how best to establish and accomplish your aims; as well as at elephant traps, bad practices and risks, and how to avoid them.

The deals featured vary greatly: from staggering success to the verge of financial oblivion – and fortunately back again. They range across very different markets: from the world of global drug discovery in mythical Tintagel to heavy metal bashing (dustcarts) in the West Midlands. They have been backed by many different venture capitalists and financed by UK and international banks.

Management buyouts and buy-ins are a high-octane part of the business world. It is a high risk: high reward arena. Metaphorically an MBO/MBI is like fitting an eight-litre V12 engine into an aged VW Beetle and expecting it to perform much better than before, or as someone once colourfully put: “a venture capitalist would expect that if you made love nine times in a night, the baby would arrive in four weeks”.

With the demands – and the potential rewards – so high, you can’t afford to be without this authoritative guide.

Andy Nash began his career at Cadbury - Schweppes in 1978 after graduating in Economics and Geography from the University College of Swansea. He carried out a variety of sales and marketing roles at Cadburys progressing to Senior Management where he was ultimately responsible for the Tea and Coffee brands in the group. In 1984 he joined Sterling Heath Ltd., the OTC division of Sterling Drug Inc. as Marketing Controller. A year later, aged 29, he was promoted to Marketing Director. In 1987 he was headhunted to join Taunton Cider Limited on the main board as Commercial Director with responsibility for Marketing, Sales and New Product Development. During his time there the marketing strategies were radically changed causing sales and profits to increase substantially. This is demonstrated by the fact that, with two colleagues he jointly led a successful MBO of the company for £72m in 1991. A year later the company was floated on the LSE for £156m and then sold to another Drinks company in 1995 for £280m. He was the only director of Taunton Cider invited to stay with the enlarged group by its new owners, being appointed Managing Director of the Drinks division - Matthew Clark Taunton Ltd. As Managing Director of the £400m turnover company he successfully oversaw the post acquisition integration. In 1997 he decided to move on and pursue a career as a portfolio non-executive director. Since then, as a portfolio Chairman, he has acquired further extensive experience of MBO's, MBI's, turnarounds and re-financings. At present he is Chairman of Merrydown plc (he led the successful rescue and turnaround in 1998), Photo-Scan plc, and a director of several other private companies. He is also Deputy Chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club.