Dunedin pledges £60m for Scots firms

PRIVATE equity firm Dunedin has pledged to invest £60 million from its latest £300m fund into Scottish businesses.

Dunedins Mark Ligertwood is targeting support for SMEs

The Edinburgh-based investor had intended to raise £250m for its third buyout fund but increased the ceiling to meet the higher demand.

Some 60 per cent of the investors who have pumped money into the vehicle come from overseas, compared with 20 per cent for its second fund, which was raised in 2006.

Mark Ligertwood, a partner at Dunedin, said: “As a result of our successful fund close, a further £300m will be available for investment in UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – and as much as £60m for Scottish enterprises.

“One of the key ways that we add value to the companies that we back is to help them internationalise, and our investments in Scotland each exemplify this.

“This is something we expect to do more of as we now work to deploy our third fund, giving nationally successful businesses a chance to shine on the international stage.”

Dunedin hailed the success of Inverness-based Weldex, the UK’s largest crawler crane hire firm, following a £32m management buyout in 2010.

“This investment has enabled the management team, led by Iain McGilvray, to continue their expansion of the business in the UK and overseas,” Dunedin said.

The investor said that it would use its latest fund to target businesses valued at between £20 and £75m.

Investors from Scandinavia and the United States have invested with Dunedin for the first time, alongside increased interest from backers in France, Germany and Switzerland.

News of the closing of the fund follows on from a string of investments in which Dunedin has been involved.

In December, the firm backed the £34.5m management buyout of Edinburgh-based oil and gas engineering outfit Premier Hytemp from former Rangers football club owner Sir David Murray.

Last month Dunedin led a £43m buyout at technology outfit Trustmarque.