Maven invests in John McGavigan Limited

Maven funds expansion for leading Scottish-based automotive assemblies business

Maven has provided expansion funding to John McGavigan Limited (JML), a leading manufacturer of decorative assemblies and interior parts for the automotive industry, with a significant share of the Western European market and an increasing presence in Eastern Europe.

The business employs over 130 staff at its modern plant in Bishopbriggs near Glasgow and is at the forefront of automotive assemblies technology, supplying Tier 1 manufacturers such as Bosch, Visteon, Continental and Yazaki. JML components are widely used by global brand car makers producing affordable high volume cars, including Ford, GM, Jaguar/Landrover and Toyota.

The company was acquired in 2009 by the current senior management team and has achieved sales of £9 million in the first full year of trading, with a number of long term customer relationships in place which help to underpin future growth.

The Maven funding will help to continue the development of the core UK business and support the company's strategy to establish a low cost manufacturing base in China. The management team has previous experience of establishing and managing a successful operation in China, and this additional facility will provide access to the largest automotive market in the world, which has seen strong growth in recent years with sales and production forecast to increase by 96% up to 2016.

JML is a profitable and fast growing business, led by a management team which has been working together since 2001 and has many years’ experience in the international automotive and plastic manufacturing industry. With an established global brand and overseas operational experience, the business is well positioned to achieve significant expansion, leveraging its UK design and technical expertise to attract new customers by delivering a broader range of products and services across the Far East automotive markets.

David Taylor, JML Managing Director, said: “As part of our strategic planning process we have been working closely with prospective investors over the past year and Maven stood out as an ideal partner through their professionalism, experience and management compatibility, and most importantly demonstrated that they share the same ambitions for our business. The Group is now well positioned to execute our growth and expansion strategy, designed to serve our customers and stakeholders alike, with expansion into Asia and the continued development of our manufacturing and product development operations in Scotland. The industries we serve look for long term partnerships and our relationship with Maven is very much in line with this.”

The Maven investment was led by Glasgow-based Investment Partner Andrew Craig, who added: “Maven is delighted to be able to support a Scottish growth company like JML. This investment will provide JML with the capital required to further develop the business in the UK, Europe and the high-growth Asian markets. The investment will also create and protect skilled manufacturing jobs in Scotland. We were impressed with what David and Stephen have achieved in a relatively short space of time and look forward to working with them to develop the business.”