Leeds Consumables Firm AIC Backed in £12m Management Buyout

A Leeds management buyout has been backed with a £12m investment, handing the company’s existing bosses ownership and fresh firepower to grow.

Private equity firm Foresight has put the money into Automotive & Industrial Consumables (AIC), a Leeds-based importer and distributor of automotive, electrical and industrial products, to support the buyout and its next phase of expansion. The deal keeps the business in the hands of the team that has been running it, while giving it the backing to chase new products and markets.

What the Leeds Management Buyout Involves

AIC supplies more than 6,100 products to over 5,500 customers across the UK, Europe and the United States, serving the automotive aftermarket, electrical installation, construction and general industrial sectors. The buyout is led by the existing senior team, managing director Prakash Patel, finance director Jake Bury, sales director Neil Hodson and procurement director Raj Patel who will continue to run the business with Foresight’s backing. The investment is earmarked for growth: more spending on sales and marketing, an upgraded website, a wider product range, expansion into new geographic markets and greater use of data and AI-driven analytics. As part of the deal, industry veteran Andrew Wakelin joins as chair, bringing more than 35 years in industrial distribution, most recently as group operations director at private equity-backed Aspen Pumps.

“The management team has been driving the business for many years and is excited to take this next step. With Foresight’s backing, we can invest behind a clear growth strategy and unlock opportunities that were previously out of reach.”

Prakash Patel, Managing Director, AIC

Another Yorkshire Deal for Foresight

For Foresight, a FTSE 250 investment manager, the deal is its fifth in Yorkshire and the North East in the past year, part of a busy run of regional dealmaking that chimes with figures showing private equity activity across the region growing strongly. The firm said AIC offered the qualities it looks for, a strong management team, recurring revenue, good cash generation and a market-leading position with room to grow. The transaction also drew in a familiar cast of Leeds professional-services names, with law firms Addleshaw Goddard and Mills & Reeve among the advisers on either side. Investment director Richard Ralph said Foresight saw significant opportunity to accelerate the company’s growth into new products and markets. For a long-established Leeds distributor, the Leeds management buyout is a chance to scale up while keeping its leadership and its base firmly in the city.