Quadrant Private Equity (also simply known as Quadrant) is an Australian

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a typ ...

investment firm based in Sydney, Australia. The company was founded as Quadrant Capital in 1996 by Chris Hadley. Quadrant hosts multiple

investment funds An investment fund is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These advantages inc ...

which invest in businesses across a wide array of industries and sectors, specifically targeting management buyouts and

growth capital Growth capital (also called expansion capital and growth equity) is a type of private equity investment, usually a minority investment, in relatively mature companies that are looking for capital to expand or restructure operations, enter new mar ...

transactions. The first three Quadrant funds delivered a collective 37% return between 1996 and 2006. The firm owns or co-owns a number of well-known Australian companies including

Journey Beyond Journey Beyond is the business name (together with more than a dozen other related names) of Experience Australia Group Pty Ltd, a private equity-owned company known mainly for operating Australian interstate experiential tourism trains (''The ...

Barbeques Galore Barbeques Galore is Australia's biggest specialist BBQs and outdoor furniture retailer, owned by Quadrant Private Equity It specializes in Grill (cooking), barbecue grills, accessories and consumables. There are over 90 stores in Australia, and s ...

, Timezone and

Darrell Lea Darrell Lea is an Australian company that manufactures and distributes chocolate, liquorice and other confectionery. Its headquarters is based in Ingleburn, New South Wales. After 85 years under the ownership and control of the Lea family, the ...

Quadrant is Australia's largest

fitness centre A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

operator through acquisitions of brands including Fitness First, Jetts Fitness and GoodLife Fitness. Quadrant has floated a number of its interests on the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia a ...

(ASX) including

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, Virtus Health, Isentia, APN Outdoor, Bapcar (previously Burson Auto Parts) and Estia Health.

Notable investments

Quadrant bought

in 2006 for NZ$275 million, floating the company on the ASX three years later for around AU$350 million. In 2007, Quadrant acquired Australian-owned

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

restaurants Red Rooster, Chicken Treat and

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

in deals collectively worth A$240 million, forming Quick Service Restaurant Holdings (renamed in 2017 as Craveable Brands). The group of 620 stores was sold in 2011 to Archer Capital for A$450 million. Quadrant purchased a half-stake in advertising company APN Outdoor in 2011, before acquiring the remaining stake from

APN News & Media Here, There & Everywhere (HT&E), formerly known as APN News & Media, is an Australian media company. Divisions include broadcast radio and Out-of-home advertising. The company previously had assets in New Zealand, and previously owned Adshel ...

in 2013 for around A$70 million. It was listed on the ASX in 2014. In 2012, Quadrant and Ironbridge Capital formed BBQSAM Holdings after acquiring retailers

and Amart Furniture. Quadrant purchased Zip Industries in 2013 from its founder, and after abandoning an IPO offloaded the company to Culligan in 2017 for around US$550 million. In 2014, Quadrant purchased a 45% stake in Canberra Data Centres for A$140 million, selling the businesses two years later. The deal was recognised with an award from The Australian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL). In 2015, Quadrant purchased

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-based pet food company VIP Pet Foods for A$410 million. After renaming the company The Real Pet Food Company, Quadrant sold the business to a foreign consortium including Singapore's

Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...

and Chinese firms Hosen Capital and New Hope Group for A$1 billion in 2017. In 2016, Quadrant acquired restaurants owned by chef

Neil Perry Neil Arthur Perry AM (born 29 June 1957) is an Australian chef, restaurateur, author and television presenter. He also is the co-ordinator for Qantas Flight Catering under his company Rockpool Consulting. He also cooks high quality Korean BB ...

through its Urban Purveyor Group for a reported A$65 million, creating the Rockpool Dining Group. Quadrant acquired a majority stake in Great Southern Rail in 2016, operator of the ''

Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, li ...

'' and ''

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' is an experiential travel, experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide Parklands Terminal, Adelaide, Alice Springs railw ...

'' train journeys, folding the company into its investments in Cruise Whitsundays and

Rottnest Express Rottnest Island ( nys, Wadjemup), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, Rottnest is an A-cla ...

to form tourism company Experience Australia Group. Also in 2016, Quadrant Private Equity formed Fitness and Lifestyle Group, after purchasing Jetts Fitness, Goodlife Health Clubs, Hypoxi and the Australian arm of Fitness First, becoming the largest operator of fitness centres in Australia. The holding company is partially-owned by

Oaktree Capital Management Oaktree Capital Management is an American global asset management firm specializing in alternative investment strategies. As of March 31, 2022, the company managed $164 billion for its clientele. The firm was co-founded in 1995 by a group that ...

. Queensland-based Go Health Clubs were added in 2017. In 2017, Quadrant acquired a partial stake in gaming arcade company Timezone. In 2017, Quadrant sold their majority share of Icon Group, Australia's largest oncology provider, in a reported $1.1 billion deal. Quadrant purchased an 80-90% stake in confectionary company

in 2018 in a deal worth around A$200 million. In 2019, Quadrant bought auction business Grays Online for A$60 million from Eclipx Group. In 2020, Quadrant bought the Enterprise business from

Arq Group Webcentral, formerly known as Melbourne IT Group, is an Australian digital services provider. It is a publicly-traded company that was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange () in December 1999. It provides internet domain registration, ...

as part of a consortium for A$35 million. Quadrant acquired Jaybro, a supplier to the construction and infrastructure sector operating in Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

, in March 2022.

Funds

Quadrant Private Equity has operated a total of 9 individual funds.

References

External links

* {{officialwebsite, http://quadrantpe.com.au/ Private equity firms of Australia Investment companies of Australia Privately held companies of Australia Holding companies of Australia Financial services companies established in 1996 Financial services companies based in Sydney Australian companies established in 1996 Holding companies established in 1996