Portfolio
Transports Alloin
| Sector | Industrials |
|---|---|
| Investment type | Growth Capital |
| Region | France |
| Status | Former investment |
Nature of Business
Based in France, Alloin is a fast-growing distribution group specialising in rapid delivery across Europe. The group, formerly family-owned but now part of Swiss company Kühne + Nagel, takes packages from pickup to delivery, and offers a choice of standard rapid and express delivery.
Transports Alloin makes 14,000 deliveries a day with daily departures to 19 European countries. The group intends to continue its growth by further extending its network and developing its international business and logistics services.
Investment Overview
In 2006, 3i took a 28.5% stake in the family-owned business based in Villefranche-sur-Saône, near Lyon. We worked in partnership to design a structure that enabled Jean-Louis Alloin to retain control of the company with 53% of the shares, with the management holding 18.5%. This process bought out a number of family and minority shareholders whilst helping to fuel growth. We have a strong track record in the transport and logistics sector and provided Alloin with the benefit of our extensive network and on-the-ground expertise in order to optimise both growth and profitability. In particular, we focused on value creation through improved pricing management; upgrading IT services to further improved process and reliability. We also introduced sector expert Peter Ashton to the Board.
In two years, turnover grew by nearly 50% to almost €300 million, while the number of employees rose from 2,300 to 3,000.
In October 2008, we sold our stake in Transports Alloin to Swiss company Kühne + Nagel, a world leader in logistics, leaving the company very well positioned for future growth.
