Marktlink Mergers & Acquisitions - Vadeko BV

Description

In order to continue to meet high demand in the future, the specialist in sustainable prefabricated wood frame structures Vadeko has sold a minority stake in the business to investor NIBC Mezzanine & Equity Partners ("NIBC"). By investing in Vadeko, NIBC becomes the partner for the company's ambitious growth strategy. This was announced by Marktlink Mergers & Acquisitions, which oversaw the transaction. Growth capital will be invested in expanding the production capacity and further automating the production process in order to continue to serve the growing number of clients optimally and with the highest quality products in the future.

Vadeko is a specialist in the design, production, transportation and assembly of sustainable and cost-efficient prefabricated wood frame ("HSB") structures with a complete product range from roof elements to complete HSB shells for homes. The business has been led by entrepreneurs Mark Timmer and Wiebe Postma since 2015. Next year investments will be made in the expansion of buildings and, among other things, an additional production line with an emphasis on facade elements. More than 50,000 m2 of additional facade elements per year are then expected to be produced.

Both residential and non-residential construction are increasingly using prefabricated wood frame elements. This is partly due to the higher construction speeds that can be achieved and stricter environmental requirements from the government. This is because building with wood, with its sustainable properties such as renewability, good insulation values and a less environmentally damaging production process, leads to CO2 reduction, among other things. Precast wood frame elements also make the work on site more efficient and require fewer transport movements, making the process scalable and in line with the industrialization of construction.

Distressing housing shortage
The expectation of both entrepreneurs Timmer and Postma and investor NIBC is that the market for prefabricated wood frame construction will continue to develop. Through 2030, there is strong demand for about 1 million new homes to be built. "Currently, prefabricated wood frame roofs are already being used for about 70% of all ground-level homes. Moreover, the share of wood-frame facade elements is growing rapidly and is gaining ground, especially from the environmental aspect, compared to competing building systems such as precast concrete." said Wiebe Postma. "In addition, the share of complete wood-frame cascade houses is less than 5% of the total. So the growth potential of the market, also in view of the distressing housing shortage, is considerable."

Together with growth partner NIBC, Vadeko aims to remain the preferred supplier of prefab wood frame elements and to expand the business in a sustainable manner. "Vadeko is well positioned for further expansion. With the minority stake provided, NIBC is investing in a sustainable entrepreneurial growth company. NIBC will support the management in the realization of further growth with which Vadeko can strengthen its position in the construction sector in the coming years." said Brigitte van der Maarel, Managing Director NIBC Mezzanine & Equity Partners.

Koen Rutten, who guided the transaction on behalf of Marktlink: "We noticed that there was above average interest from both investors and strategists because the company operates in a sector with a sustainable character and is technically leading in this field. The biggest challenge was ultimately to choose the right partner from the many interested parties.''

Together with NIBC, acquisitions of other precast wood frame construction companies are also being considered in order to leverage economies of scale and synergies. "The precast construction market is booming, but at the same time very fragmented. Scaling up is in our opinion a "must" to move forward with automation and industrialization, so that we can operate solidly towards the future and continue to serve customers in a progressive and high-quality manner." states Mark Timmer.

The current entrepreneurs will remain at the helm to develop the growth plans together with the current employees. The pool of employees (grown from 40 to 100 employees since 2015) will be expanded in the near future.