01 Mar 2013
Indoor go-kart operator TeamSport plans to expand
BY Tom Walker
Indoor go-kart operator TeamSport is to expand rapidly over the next three years after completing a £9m management buyout led by managing director Dom Gaynor.
Gaynor has spent the past few years growing the business alongside TeamSport founder Paul Wrightman, who will now leave the business as part of the buyout deal. Wrightman launched the company 21 years ago with the first site in Guildford, Surrey.
The buyout was part-funded by investor Neil Taylor - co-founder of gaming chain GAME - and private investment firm Connection Capital.
Under Gaynor's leadership, TeamSport plans to nearly double the number of its owned and operated go-karting sites - from nine to 16 by 2016.
Most of its existing circuits are located across the south of England and Wales, but it now plans to start moving north across the UK and strengthen its foothold in London, where it already has two tracks.
TeamSport reported a 40 per cent rise in visitor numbers over the past three years and a 270 per cent increase in profits for 2012.
In a statement, investor Connection Capital said: "As part of the funding package, TeamSport also received an element of growth capital which will assist the business in its plans to roll out over the next five years to 16 sites throughout the UK.
"Our co-investor in this transaction was Neil Taylor, who has been a serial private equity investor since selling GAME in 1999. The opportunity was available to our clients in multiples of £25,000, as always, and accommodated investments by individuals, trusts, pension schemes and corporate vehicles."
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