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Old Mutual Private Equity has agreed to sell its investment in South African sports and leisure group MoreCorp to RMB Ventures.
Old Mutual acquired a majority stake in MoreCorp in 2015, partnering with the founder, Darryl Egdes, and the rest of the management team. At the time, the investment was based on MoreCorp’s established positions in golf and cycling, its experienced management team and the potential to benefit from growing participation in both sports, as well as increased consumer spending on related experiences, communities and services.
Chumani Kula, co-head of Old Mutual Private Equity, said: “When we invested in MoreCorp in 2015, we saw a strong entrepreneurial business with leading positions in attractive specialist markets and significant potential to scale in partnership with a high-quality management team. MoreCorp has since evolved from a collection of strong specialist retail businesses into a broader sports and leisure platform. Our role has been to support that evolution with capital, strategic input, and governance. Over the past decade, the group’s turnover has tripled. As we exit, the business has greater scale, a stronger institutional foundation and several avenues through which it can continue to grow.”
During Old Mutual Private Equity’s ownership, MoreCorp grew both organically and through acquisitions. The group acquired SAIL, expanding into sports commercialisation; InfoMasters and ScoreCapture, adding digital capabilities; and Global Golf Retail, which increased The Pro Shop’s presence at golf courses.
MoreCorp also developed new concepts including HotShots and GolfTEC. Separately, Old Mutual Private Equity provided capital and strategic support to expand the group’s cycling platform.
Today, MoreCorp operates across golf, cycling, sports commercialisation, e-commerce and leisure services.
Andrew Aitken, senior partner at RMB Ventures, commented: “More than ever, people seek outdoor experiences. Whether it’s a round of golf, a weekend mountain bike trail with friends, or the atmosphere of a live concert, these experiences matter – and so does the sense of belonging they help to create. This is precisely what makes MoreCorp an attractive value proposition for RMB Ventures. It is a business built around delivering these experiences and making them more accessible and affordable for a broader range of consumers. This shared vision with management underpins what we know will be a great partnership. This partnership is also anchored by a reinvestment by all existing management and is bolstered by fresh investment from a significant group of new executives. This investment reflects our desire to partner to create exceptional and lasting value – for MoreCorp, its people, customers and broader stakeholders.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
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