AHS Hospitality MBO backed by ANZ

The management of outsourced housekeeping provider AHS Hospitality has been backed in a buyout by ANZ's private equity arm and two of the banks funds which collectively have taken a majority stake in the company.

As part of the management buyout, AHS co-founder Stephen Lauder will take on the role of executive chairman.

Mr Lauder and his father, Stan, established the business in 1993. The finance and administration is still conducted from AHS's St Georges Terrace offices, but management control is now effectively in Melbourne where the three executives involved in the MBO - CEO Steve Tochner, CFO Richard Kiel and COO Michelle Loader - are based.

Mr Lauder said the ANZ backing and MBO would allow the company to pursue offshore acquisitions and growth, with possible targets already identified in the New Zealand and UK markets.

An IPO is a possibility in about three years should the current strategy go to plan.

About 300 of AHS's 3,500 staff are based in WA where about 6 per cent of its business is done.

Mr Lauder said AHS has grown at 33 per cent a year and turns over more than $100 million per annum.

Below is the full announcement:

The Chief Executive and senior management team at outsourced housekeeping provider AHS Hospitality have partnered with the Perth-based private equity arm of ANZ to complete a management buyout.
AHS is the Australian market leader in the provision of outsourced housekeeping services for the hotel and hospitality industry. The company was established in Western Australia in 1993 by father and son team Stan and Stephen Lauder. Stephen Lauder has retained a shareholding and will continue to provide strategic direction as Executive Chairman of the group.
AHS employs more than 3,500 staff and manages the housekeeping services of more than 16,500 rooms in 150 hotels across Australia. It has grown rapidly with annual revenue approaching $100 million.
The buyout has allowed the senior management team, including CEO Steve Tochner, CFO Richard Kiel and COO Michelle Loader, the opportunity to invest in the continued growth of the business alongside Stephen Lauder and ANZ, which is now the largest shareholder. The Business Equity Fund, managed by a subsidiary of ANZ, also invested in the transaction.
The funding of the transaction was a mix of debt and equity, with ANZ supplying the debt funding and investing equity together with the management team. The deal value has not been disclosed.
For Stephen Lauder, a previous WA Entrepreneur of the year, the transaction is a strong endorsement of the business model that he and father Stan have created over the past 14 years. Mr Lauder said "We chose ANZ because they provided the right financial solution and expertise to help AHS with our expansion plans, both locally and globally".