ANC set fair with new deal

ANC Group’s six-strong management group has taken a majority shareholding and secured a new long term equity investor.
The result of the funding deal is that: RBS and Halifax BoS have excited the company: the management have added 50% of the company to their earlier shareholding and now own 73.75%; and Lloyds TSB Development Capital owns 26.25%, with a commitment to retain its stake for seven years.
In total, the package of senior debt (provided by HSBC), working capital and equity totals £37.3m; the breakdown is not disclosed and there is no indication of the valuation of the company.
Chief executive Mark Gittins says the new funding allows the firm to continue with a long-term investment; short-termism is dangerous in the parcels sector, he says.
ANC claims to be the Sector’s fastest growing independent and last year increased annual capacity by a further 35m parcels. Its handling “up to 200,000 parecls a day”.
It forecast more “sector consolidation as business look to capture the benefits of integration and develop international revenue streams.”
Gittins tells Motor Transport that ANC “would be interested” in taking on the Federal Express contract, held by Business Post and due for renewal this spring.
ANC claims 7% of the UK combined domestic and international express parcels market. Volumes increased by 7% last year and turnover by more 8%, with success in both B2B and B2C. “There are independents that don’t have problems winning business and we are one of them,” Gittins says.
He says that the traditional UK parcels market is shrinking by a couple of percent a year but is growing overall, due to a serge in home delivery.
Group turnover to March 31 2005 was £133m and is now “reaching £200m” when franchisees’ revenue is included ANC logistics turns over £15-20m and delivers to retailers at night; and ANC resource Solutions, with a £4.5m turnover, recruits managers, drivers, and recruits sales people, with 60% of its business in-house.
Gittins’ team has revived an “out-of-balance” ANC since the previous re-financing in 2001. ANC’s formerly all-franchised network now sees 40-45% rise of deliveries done corporately, with ANC owning almost all the depots in the London area.