The Company & Our Investment
Founded in 1996, CSL DualCom is now the UK's leading supplier of dual signalling intruder alarm devices for commercial premises. The devices communicate using a telephone line, wireless link or a broadband connection. CSL DualCom has been a partner of Vodafone since 2000.
CSL has a strong product suite, with new products regularly introduced. This, combined with its excellent customer service, has led to significant year on year growth in profits. The company currently has over 80,000 alarm to security connections throughout the UK.
Octopus originally completed the MBO of CSL in 2006, with an investment of £3m and have since completed a further investment into CSL, which completed in July 2007. In addition to the ongoing support given by the Private Equity team, Octopus-backed Javelin Wholesale has provided a £350k supplier finance facility to CSL Dualcom since February 2008.
Octopus also provided £2.65 million of flexible debt in February 2009, which was prompted because CSL's bank, Kaupthing, went into administration. CSL will repay only the interest on the Octopus loan until the term is up, at which point the entire loan will be repayable via a bullet payment. Because the company doesn't have to find the money to repay the loan each month, it frees up cash flow which enables the company to grow more aggressively than it would have otherwise been able to. This was the first investment for Protected VCT2.
The demise of Kaupthing made it necessary to find a new banking partner. Unlike traditional high street lenders, Octopus showed a willingness to both understand the business and to lend. This, coupled with terms which are competitive and flexible, make it an ideal partner for developing the company's growth plans. It is our view that this move to borrow from Octopus has given the company a high degree of certainty in these uncertain times.
David Doble, Finance Director, CSL DualCom Limited
