Bullitt Group, the UK designer of specialist mobile phones, has sold a majority stake to private equity company Exponent and appointed industry veteran Pieter Knook as its new chairman.

Bullitt, named after the Steve McQueen film, creates mobile phones with well-known brands including Land Rover, Caterpillar, and Kodak. The Reading-based company has been preparing to bring in outside investors to help fund an expansion of the business.

It fielded interest from US funds, but has agreed to sell a controlling stake to UK fund Exponent, which has invested in a variety of companies including Radley handbags, the vegetarian food brand Quorn, tool hire company HSS and the Racing Post sports paper.

Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The original founding team — Colin Batt, Dave Floyd and Richard Wharton — will retain stakes in the phone company, as will the Business Growth Fund, which backed it in 2013.

A empresa desenvolveu telefones sob medida, incluindo um telefone robusto com uma câmera de imagem térmica para a Caterpillar e uma câmera para Kodak com um telefone lens 20 Ele está pronto para revelar o design de seus aparelhos de marca Land Rover ainda este ano. "À medida que a empresa amadureceu, era apropriado ter mais apoio institucional. Ela é liderada por fundadores há sete anos", disse ele. Ele ingressou na Vodafone em 2008 para desenvolver sua Internet e estratégia digital e está no conselho da TDC, a empresa de telecomunicações dinamarquesas. Ele substitui Keith Pacey, ex -executivo -chefe da varejista de eletrônicos Mapplin, que ingressou na Bullitt em 2012.

Peter Stephens, chief executive of Bullitt, said the Exponent sale was a natural next step for the business. “As the company matured, it was appropriate to have more institutional support. It has been founder-led for seven years,” he said.

Mr Knook spent 17 years at Microsoft, where he ran the company’s mobile business. He joined Vodafone in 2008 to develop its internet and digital strategy and is on the board of TDC, the Danish telecoms company. He replaces Keith Pacey, the former chief executive of electronics retailer Maplin, who joined Bullitt in 2012.

Bullitt disse no ano passado que estava se preparando para reviver a marca Marconi na Grã -Bretanha lançando novos rádios digitais com o famoso logotipo. Stephens disse que esses planos foram retirados, pois Bullitt se concentra em marcas globais como o CAT. Parceiro

The acquisition by Exponent represented an exit for BGF after almost five years of tenure.