Hermes Private Equity, the mid-market buyout arm of Hermes Pensions Management, has backed portfolio company Mayfair Gaming’s acquisition of Thomas Estates, the owner of Beacon Bingo clubs and Showboat gaming centres.
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Mayfair Gaming acquired Thomas Estates from the Thomas family for an undisclosed sum. The Royal Bank of Scotland provided debt facilities for the transaction.
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Hermes Private Equity made the investment from its second fund, Hermes Private Equity Partners II, which closed on £250 million (€370 million) in September 2005. The fund, which is now roughly 30 percent invested, was the firm’s first to receive commitments from external investors, including a £100 million allocation by the Royal Mail Pension Plan.
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Hermes Private Equity bought Mayfair Gaming in a management buyout in May of this year. The bingo operator, which has eight clubs across the UK and a turnover of £12 million in 2005, was acquired from Risk Capital Partners, which had carried out a management buy-in of the business in 2004.
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Hermes Private Equity’s other investments in the leisure sector include Merlin Entertainments, a UK theme park operator, which was sold to The Blackstone Group, a US private equity firm, in May 2005 for £102.5 million.
Hermes backs bingo clubs buyout
Hermes Private Equity, a UK private equity firm, has backed the buyout of Thomas Estates, gaming company, and plans to merge them with portfolio company Mayfair Gaming.