KWIKSPACE, Africa’s largest supplier of manufactured and rented prefabricated buildings, has been purchased by Mauritius-based private equity company AIH Limited. AIH Limited is advised by Athena Capital, a Cape Town based private equity firm.
Kwikspace’s executive team will invest alongside AIH Limited following completion of the buyout. The executive team will continue to lead the business, together with the new shareholders, in the next stage of the company’s growth.
Kwikspace Chief Executive Officer Dirk Steinberg said: “Athena Capital has a proven track record of delivering positive returns for innovation-led businesses. They have extensive knowledge and experience of operating in local and international markets and will provide Kwikspace with the institutional support to deliver on our strategic plans.”
He said their operating and delivery standards would continue under the existing executive team, and “we are planning to leverage our manufacturing capabilities and national rental fleet to grow our footprint in the coming years”.
Kwikspace becomes the fifth company in Athena Capital’s investment portfolio, joining Vida e Caffe (South Africa’s largest independent coffee chain); fintech company Jumo; American technology company ComboCap; and Zibo Containers, SA’s largest manufacturer of rigid PET thermoformed containers.
The Kwikspace executive team remains unchanged, and its future shareholding will ensure full alignment with the new shareholders. “We remain perfectly positioned to provide our full service and product offering, ensuring our well-renown customer satisfaction approach remains unchanged,” said Steinberg.
Athena Capital’s approach is to partner with management teams where they remain aligned at both an operational and strategic level. Kwikspace remains a level 4 B-BBEE company.
“As part of the management structure, I can say that the entire executive team is excited to have AIH Limited on board as shareholders,” Steinberg added. “We look forward to working with them as we focus on our upcoming expansion drive to cement us even further in our existing markets and open up new opportunities in untapped markets.”
