3i Infrastructure is to acquire a 92% stake in SRL Traffic Systems, which rents out traffic-management equipment in the UK, for £191m (€223m).
Management of SRL has re-invested to acquire the remaining 8% stake and 3i Infrastructure has provided a further £83m of debt with the intention of replacing this with third-party financing.
SRL is headquartered in Cheshire and owns almost 13,000 items of traffic management equipment, which it rents to local authorities, utilities, contractors and traffic-management companies from a nationwide network of depots.
SRL’s product range includes temporary traffic lights, adaptive detection systems, pedestrian and cyclist systems, variable messaging systems, barriers and CCTV.
It can also provide planning and design of complex traffic management systems, installation, maintenance and integration with existing systems, and direct sales of equipment assembled by SRL.
3i Infrastructure said SRL was experiencing strong growth in customer demand driven by an increasing number of roadworks projects, resulting from greater spending on highway maintenance, utilities works and major infrastructure projects.
Richard Laing, chair of 3i Infrastructure, said: “SRL is an attractive core-plus infrastructure business and is well-suited to 3i Infrastructure’s strategy of investing in asset-intensive companies.
“The business has a strong position through its extensive depot network and market-leading reputation.”
Phil White, managing partner and head of infrastructure at 3i Investments, the investment manager of the company, said: “SRL has defensive characteristics in a sector with attractive underlying market trends.
“We are excited to be backing a best-in-class management team, and we see opportunities to use our longstanding experience of investing in UK infrastructure to support SRL’s continued growth.”
