Ashridge Capital and Trimountain Partners complete investment in Red Driving School

Ashridge Capital and Trimountain Partners, in partnership with management, have completed the management buyout of RED Driving School (“RED” or the “Company”), the largest driving school and driving instructor training school in the UK, for an undisclosed amount. The Company was previously backed by Kelso Place Asset Management (“KPAM”), a UK based private equity firm.

With close to 1,500 driving instructors, RED operates throughout England, Scotland and Wales with significant market presence and visibility in the driving school industry. The Company is headquartered in Billingham, Teeside and has won numerous awards, most recently the 2018 First Car National Driving School of the Year and 2019 Gold Trusted Service award by Feefo.

The management team is led by CEO Ian McIntosh, who joined RED in 2012, having previously held senior positions with AAK plc (as President of the $1B+ in sales West Division overseeing sales in the UK, US and Mexico), Northern Foods plc and Mars Incorporated.

Ian McIntosh commented “Following a tremendously successful journey with Kelso Place Asset Management, we are excited to now be backed by Trimountain and Ashridge as we move to further consolidate our market-leading position.”

Ali Khanbhai, Partner and Co-Founder of Trimountain Partners commented “RED is typical of the businesses we want to back. The Company has a strong market position and a great brand in an attractive market, and is led by a management team whom we believe punch significantly above the weight of what one might expect for a company of this size. We very much look forward to working closely with Ian and the team going forward.”

David Sherratt, founder and CEO of Ashridge Capital commented: “We are delighted to back such an experienced and proven management team with a market leading position in an attractive sector, with solid fundamentals and the opportunity for strong organic growth."