Peninsula Credit lead-arranged a multimillion-dollar facility, refinanced Rodd & Gunn’s existing bank debt, funded the buyout and supported growth in the UK, US and Canada, while supporting operations in New Zealand and Australia.
“A buyout and growth across several countries made this a complex deal and it needed more flexibility than a standard bank facility offers,” Peninsula Credit managing director Andrew Pryde said.
Kiwibank provided working capital.
Beagley has led Rodd & Gunn since 2001.
“Rodd & Gunn is a brand I care about deeply and I want it to be a brand all of New Zealand can be proud of as we continue to grow on the world stage,” he said.
“The shareholders who backed us over the years helped build the business into what it is today.
“Owning it outright means I can keep investing in the brand, and the team behind it, for the long term.”
Beagley said the buyout and growth plans for several countries made it a complex deal, requiring more flexibility than a standard bank facility.
Peninsula Credit manages two funds with more than $145 million under management, with loans spanning horticulture, viticulture, renewable energy, infrastructure services, ecommerce, facilities services and retail.
Rodd & Gunn has been going since 1946 but has been trading under its current name since 1987.
It has more than 300 stores and concessions across 11 countries and sells online and through wholesale partners globally.
“Winona came in in 2015 to assist us with our expansion internationally, and we started in America in 2011, found it really tough going, and they came in and assisted us on that journey and helped a lot from a capital and expertise perspective,” Beagley told the Herald.
Every private equity fund has a timeline and its timeline was up, he said.
“Rather than going to the market to find another equity partner, credit was a better option in my view and having the ability to bring it back to being 100% New Zealand-owned is pretty exciting from my perspective.”
Beagley said most New Zealanders have no idea of the scale of the business outside of New Zealand.
“We are very strong in Australia and we are growing rapidly in the Northern Hemisphere.
“We’ve gone from saying ‘hey let’s just open in lots of countries’ to doubling down and being deeper in the markets we’re in.”
Beagley said the company had consistently improved its annual profit over the years.
He said a decision just after Covid to keep prices on hold, rather than increase them as many retailers did, resulted in big gains in market share.
It is not the first time he has been the company’s sole owner.
“I’ve had 100% before – 20 years ago – and so to get back there 20 years later is quite serendipitous in a lot of ways,” Beagley said.
“It was the guys who were behind Peninsula who were the guys that got me into it 20 years ago.”
Peninsula Credit has five shareholders – Andrew Pryde, Mark Hiddleston, Graham Turly, Matthew Kendrick and Berridge Spencer.
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