Cavendish Corporate Finance, the specialist sell-side M&A firm, has advised Xtrac, the world’s largest and most successful manufacturer of motorsport transmissions, on its sale to Inflexion Private Equity, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity firms.

Xtrac supplies most of the world’s top motorsport teams in both two and four-wheeled formulae across the globe, from MotoGP to Formula 1TM. The business enjoys strong EBITDA growth; over 80% of the British manufacturer’s revenue is generated through exports, particularly for high performance automotive applications including hybrids and electric vehicles.

Xtrac’s well established management team will remain with the business. The fresh investment will help fuel Xtrac’s future growth, supporting its rapidly growing high performance road car division and increasing Xtrac’s team of over 330 in the U.K. and U.S. It will also support the expansion of Xtrac’s factory and purchase of additional world class machinery, accelerating the development of the next generation of high-end automotive transmission systems and advancing its capabilities in hybrid and electric vehicles.

Cavendish Corporate Finance, which advised the shareholders and management of Xtrac, has an extensive track record in both engineering and industrials. Recent high profile deals include advising on the sales of leading manufacturer of textiles James Dewhurst Limited to Sioen Industries B.V., thermal and control systems producer VoltAir Systems to Volution Group, and Fandstan Electric Group, a specialist manufacturer of electrical equipment for the global transportation sector, to Wabtec Corporation.

The Cavendish deal team was led by James Ellis, Director.

James commented: “We are delighted to have advised Xtrac on its sale to Inflexion, allowing Xtrac to remain independent under its existing management team. We are confident we have found the right buyer to help Xtrac expand its production facilities and continue its growth trajectory particularly in the specialist high-end hyper car and super car sectors as well as hybrid and electric transmission technology. At Cavendish, we are continuing to see strong, and growing interest in the UK automotive industry from both national and international purchasers in the build-up to Brexit”.

Simon Turner, Managing Partner, Inflexion, commented: “We are backing a highly experienced management team with serious ambition. Xtrac is a truly exciting business, leading its market with its superior design capabilities and a blue-chip global client base. We bring experience from across the specialist engineering sector with businesses such as Shimtech and Aspen Pumps, and an extensive track record in growing teams to promote sustainable growth. We are delighted to partner with the Xtrac team.”