Survitec

In August 2004, Montagu led the Management Buyout of The Survitec Group, a division of Air-Sea Survival Equipment Limited, a company controlled by the Alchemy Investment Plan.

Survitec was the world's leading survival technology company. Focused on serving the marine, military, aerospace and homeland security markets, the company brought together leading names involved in the design, manufacture, distribution and servicing of safety and survival equipment. Some of its leading brands included RFD, Beaufort, DSB and Eurovinil. Survitec employed over 1,000 people at its seven manufacturing sites and 13 service and distribution centres around the world. Its European headquarters were located in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.

Survitec had an attractive mix of predictable core earnings combined with growth from survival products with superior technology such as Eurovinil in homeland defence, Marin-Arc in marine and Beaufort's fighter pilot suits.

The management team we backed had an impressive track record of generating long term growth and had grown the business both organically and by acquisition from £10 million to £90 million turnover over the previous ten years.

Under Montagu's period of ownership we backed the team with follow on capital to both make further acquisitions and to fund the move of some of its manufacturing into low cost territories.

In February 2010, Survitec was sold to Warburg Pincus.