FRP Corporate Finance’s team in Wales has supported the management team of a leading automotive repair group on a private equity-backed management buyout of the business.
Founded in 1986 by Karl Vella MBE, automotive repair provider The Vella Group currently operates across 18 centres across North Wales, the North of England and the Midlands. Six of the centres have opened in the past 18 months. It employs more than 470 people.
The team at The Vella Group, led by managing director Marc Holding, has now completed a buyout of the business with the backing of private equity firms Ama Capital and Keyhaven Capital Partners, who specialise in supporting companies in the lower-mid market.
FRP Corporate Finance’s Cardiff team, led by partner Thomas Edwards, manager Alex Griffiths and senior associate Twm Westcott, acted as advisers to the shareholders of The Vella Group on this deal. It prepared the marketing materials for the business while running a targeted search process to identify a suitable pool of investors. Once Ama Capital and Keyhaven Capital were chosen as the ideal partners to support the buyout, the team then led on negotiations and managed the deal through to completion.
The investment from Ama and Keyhaven will see them acquire a majority stake in the business, as they use their funds and experience in the sector to help The Vella Group continue its site acquisition strategy across the UK.
Thomas Edwards, partner at FRP Corporate Finance, said:
“The Vella Group has an ambitious and capable team which has already been able to achieve impressive growth for the business in recent years, so it was no surprise that it was able to attract significant market interest from private equity investors.
“It was a pleasure to be able to support the team with this transaction, and I look forward to seeing how the business continues to develop under the stewardship of Marc.”
Karl Vella, founder of The Vella Group, added:
“Having owned the business for so long, it was important to find partners who can take it to the next level, while ensuring that the people who helped build it would be looked after and able to play a key role in its future growth.
“I’m grateful to Thomas and the team at FRP Corporate Finance for helping us to achieve this. They carefully selected investors who were an excellent fit, communicated the process clearly throughout and guided us through what was required at each stage to allow this deal to get over the line.”
Marc Holding, managing director of The Vella Group, said:
“This buyout represents a major milestone for The Vella Group, and FRP Corporate Finance were instrumental in helping us get here. Their strategic insight, investor selection and hands‑on support throughout the process ensured we found partners who truly understand our ambitions. With Ama and Keyhaven behind us, we’re ready to push forward with confidence.”
