Internet Direct
Deal Status: Exited, 2004. Special Situations
Internet Direct is an online and telephone retailer of consumer electronics. Poor management had resulted in excessive overheads, leading to administration in 2003.
In February 2004, EPIC Private Equity invested £0.6 million, backing management to grow the company from a smaller overhead base.
IT development and infrastructure was brought in-house, whilst staffing was reduced and redundancies were mitigated by internal promotion. Product offerings were diversified and a more intelligent and cost-conscious marketing plan was enacted, concentrating on search engine optimisation.
After only 3 months trading post administration, EPIC Private Equity exited to Nomatica, a French retailer which has since become Expansys. On exit, EPIC Private Equity achieved an IRR of 175.5%.
Link: www.expansys.com
