Ultra Electronics

Montagu jointly led this £48 million (€77 million) management buy-in of seven businesses, formerly part of Dowty's Electronic Systems Division.

The seven businesses, all of which operated in niches of the defence and aerospace market, now operated as divisions of Ultra Electronics Limited, a name well known in the market and which, prior to acquisition by Dowty, was perhaps best known as a manufacturer of televisions and radios.

The success of the businesses was based upon technical capability and efficient delivery of quality products to major customers such as the Ministry of Defence, Airbus and a wide range of other aircraft manufacturers.

Montagu was impressed by Dr Julian Blogh, the CEO. Dr Blogh was until some months earlier managing director of four of the seven businesses and had an impressive track record. It was a measure of the success of his past efforts that a number of his team formed the key 'Group Executive' of Ultra.

Headquartered in Greenford, the Ultra businesses operated out of six locations, primarily in the South of England, and employed approximately 1,000 people. Close examination of the businesses revealed that they were very well positioned in their markets and had good visibility of future sales that offered global potential. From an array of products within the portfolio, a number clearly had considerable potential such as active sound control for reducing noise level in passenger aircraft.

Ultra proved to be an excellent investment for Montagu and our faith in the company was fully rewarded when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 at a valuation of more than £160 million (€256 million).