Key Capital Partners (KCP) has taken majority ownership of Construction Materials Online Ltd (CMO), which runs websites supplying DIY builders and small building contractors.
The £25m revenue firm employs 40 staff and has grown sales through its RoofingSuperstore.co.uk, DrainageSuperstore.co.uk and InsulationSuperstore.co.uk websites by 55% in the last 12 months.
Mike Fell and Philip Duquenoy from KCP will join the board of CMO alongside operations director Callum Tasker, technical director Chris Dorey, e-commerce director Adrian Saunders and marketing director Liz Orgill.
As part of the restructuring, the management team has taken minority ownership of the business, taking over from the founders Mark Tasker (ops director Callum Tasker’s father), Gary Tasker, Rob Kavanagh and Brian Field.
Coming in as chairman is Dean Murray, who with KCP backing grew Gear4music, an online retail business for musicians that KCP previously backed, from £10m annual sales in 2012 to £55m in 2016.
KCP partner Philip Duquenoy said: “CMO has seen a remarkable revenue and profit trajectory and is now a serious challenger in a very large and growing sector. It is already supplying over 45,000 different products to DIY and commercial builders, thanks to a disruptive model that offers swift nationwide doorstep delivery and competitive pricing to trade and retail customers.
“The UK market for these products is growing and with a strong brand proposition, a savvy digital marketing strategy and expanding and diversified product lines, CMO has a unique opportunity to expand very quickly with the resources, expertise and capital we are investing,” he added.
Dean Murray, incoming chairman of CMO, added: “KCP has a strong track record in growing online businesses in niche areas and CMO needed a partner able to provide the capital, expertise and experience to take a successful e-commerce business to the next stage of its development, just as KCP has done so successfully with previous investments such as Gear4Music. We are looking forward to working closely with the team to build the business and diversify into other related sectors that we plan to target.”
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