The Brierley family and James Dewhurst Limited

On 7 April 2008, AAC Capital Partners ("AAC") announced the acquisition of a majority stake in James Dewhurst Limited ("JDL") for an undisclosed sum.

JDL was established in 1933 and has been owned by the Brierley family since 1991. Headquartered in Altham in Lancashire, it is a leading manufacturer of woven and non-woven textiles used in a wide range of applications to improve the performance of its customers' end products. It serves markets in many sectors across the World. In addition to the operations in the UK, the Group has facilities in USA and in Hungary. It employs a total of 346 people and had sales of £ 42mlion in 2007.

Products include Dewtex (the Group's branded non-woven scrim textiles, in which yarns are "laid" over one another and bonded chemically), advanced woven textiles, Omnitex (a range of value added, impregnated and chemically treated textiles) and Triatex (a diagonal laid scrim offered to the US market). Dewhurst'sproducts are components which enhance the performance of their customers' end products or processes across a number of diverse industries.

JDL sells to a wide range of high quality customers in the UK, Europe, the US and the rest of the World, including Asia Pacific. Industries served include parts of the construction industry (for example, for use in insulation and roofing felt products), coatings and laminates (used for example in tarpaulins), light conveyor belts and filtration.

AAC Capital Partners (formerly ABN AMRO Capital) is one of Europe's leading private equity firms, with teams operating in three countries in Northern Europe (the Netherlands, UK and Sweden). Total funds under management by AAC Capital Partners (as at 31 January 2008) were EUR 2.7 billion.

Canaccord Genuity acted as sole financial advisor to the Brierley family and James Dewhurst Limited and co-ordinated a debt process which culminated in those banks approached funding the deal.