Management Due Diligence specialists, The Quinn Partnership, has advised NorthEdge Capital Partners on it’s investment in Stoke-based composite door manufacturer, Solidor.

Founded in 2004 and led by Gareth Mobley, Solidor is a leading manufacturer of hardwood core composite doors. With over 130 employees, the business operates from well-invested facilities to produce innovative and high quality composite doors. Gareth was recently voted EN’s North West Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 for his outstanding achievement to date in growing Solidor.

The investment from NorthEdge will allow the business to expand its senior management team, continue investing in operations, capacity and IT, whilst also providing the support for a buy-and-build strategy.

Ray Stenton, Partner and Head of New Business at NorthEdge, Director Jon Pickering and Investment Executive George Potts, led the deal. Stenton and Pickering will join the Board as Non-Executive Directors, with Potts joining as an Observer.

Gareth Mobley, Chief Executive of Solidor, said: “This is an exciting moment for everybody at the Solidor Group. The investment that we have received from NorthEdge will help to catapult us to be a true market leader. We can accelerate all of our growth plans and launch our new products faster. This will be a game changer for our industry. Ray, Jon and all of the team at NorthEdge were very commercial in their approach and are people that we will continue to build a successful relationship with.”

Ray Stenton Managing Partner at NorthEdge said: “Solidor has established a strong market position in a growing niche of the home improvement market. Under Gareth’s leadership, sales have grown more than 10-fold in the last five years. We join the company at a time when further executive support and financial backing will allow Gareth to build a group of niche manufacturing businesses. We are excited to begin working alongside the whole management team to deliver on the clear growth potential at Solidor”.

Solidor was advised on the deal by international investment bank Altium, with a team that included Dominic Orsini and Mark Smith.

Phil Adams, CEO of Altium, said: “Altium has a long and successful history of helping fast growing businesses led by entrepreneurs to achieve their goals and the Solidor deal is the latest example of this. Gareth and his team have been responsible for successfully developing an innovative sales model that has captured the attention of both consumers and industry players, along with delivering very impressive recent growth. Altium worked with Gareth to understand his objectives for Solidor and ultimately identified the ideal partner in NorthEdge for working with Gareth to grow the business further.”

Mike Stiles Director at The Quinn Partnership commented “Solidor is a successful business, which under the leadership of Gareth and partnered with North Edge Capital, is well positioned to accelerate growth and consolidate their position in the market.”