Allen & Heath to Change Ownership

The Cornwall, England-based mixer manufacturer has announced a £9 million management buy-out.

The Allen & Heath directors heading the buy-out are managing director Glenn Rogers, sales and marketing director Bob Goleniowski, finance director David Jones and operations director Tony Williams. Lead investment has come from 3i, a European venture capital company, with additional investment from Bank of Scotland.

This announcement marks the end of Allen & Heaths ten-year spell as a division of Harman International Industries, Inc. Allen & Heath was acquired by Harman International in 1991, since then the manufacturers turnover has increased tenfold. Allen & Heaths new board will consist of the four current directors, plus two non-executive directors from its investment partners.

A jubilant Glenn Rogers said "This is fantastic news, not just for the Allen & Heath team, but for all our partners and customers. We have become very successful in the 10 years that we have been with Harman International, but the time has now come to pursue our own independent goals. By maintaining our passion for audio, our commitment to quality and our thirst for innovation, we are uniquely positioned to further develop our position as a key player in the sound reinforcement, installation and club markets. With 3i on board as our financial partners, look out for some exciting new products very soon."

Bob Goleniowski said "I couldnt be happier. Weve all worked really hard for this and Im looking forward to realising our full potential in the future. In the meantime well be concentrating on successfully completing what has been another year of record growth for Allen & Heath."

Allen & Heath will remain based at its recently extended factory in Penryn, Cornwall and will retain all its current employees.

Allen & Heath is expected to make further announcements about its strategy for future growth at the PLASA exhibition (Earls Court, London, 9-12 September 2001), where the company will be further strengthening its ranges with a trio of new products for the live sound, DJ and installed systems markets.