Celotex Confirms Refinancing Deal

Insulation specialist Celotex confirms a refinancing deal that paves the way for growth in this highly visible and expanding market place.

Celotex, the UK brand leader for PIR foam insulation board, announces that it has negotiated a management buy-out, by which Celotex Group Limited, comprising the current management and ABN AMRO Capital has purchased the shares of Celotex (Holdings) Limited from a group of private shareholders in a deal valued at £29m.

The management buy-out comes at a very positive time for Celotex with demand for insulation materials growing at a fast rate, driven by tightening building regulations, which are requiring ever-higher levels of insulation.

Further changes to the Building Regulations are already planned in 2006, which will give an already buoyant market a further boost.

The UK and other major countries are committed to tackling the problems of global warming and depletion of fossil fuels and a continued drive to better insulation in buildings is a key area of focus.

The success over recent years of the Celotex brand can be strongly attributed to the fact that the Company's products provide the same insulation performance at about half the thickness of most other insulant materials.

PIR foam board enables the specifier, developer or builder to retain traditional detailing with little need to change their current building methods and also enables house builders to achieve higher building densities without the need to increase the footprint of the building.

This will mean that PIR will continue to grow its share of the market.

In response to strong demand growth Celotex recently announced a £4.5 m expansion of its production facilities which will gear the company up to cope with the expected additional demand.

The financing package provides a further £5.7 m to support further planned investment in the run up to forthcoming Building Regulations changes, scheduled for 2006.

Celotex' senior management team, leading the management buy-out, has extensive experience of the insulation market.

It comprises Digby Harper (Chief Executive), Mark Goddard (Finance Director) and Richard Crisp (Marketing Director).

Paul Moxon from ABN AMRO Capital will join the board of Celotex Group Limited following the deal.

Ian Taylor, UK Head of ABN AMRO Capital, said: "When we met the management of Celotex we could see that it was a strong company in a growth market, and quickly decided it was a deal we wanted to do.

We worked closely with the management team to structure the buy-out and are delighted to announce the deal today.

The company has some great opportunities and we look forward to helping management capitalise on them over the coming years." Digby Harper, Chief Executive of Celotex, said: "This is an important year for Celotex, with our new production facility coming on stream shortly, and a strong new product pipeline.

We are delighted to have partnered with ABN AMRO Capital and now have the backing of a major financial institution to support us through an important growth period.".

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