The Irish Times Business Person of the Month: Laura Dillon, Waterland

Laura Dillon, a partner with Dutch private equity group Waterland and head of its Irish unit, has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for May, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.

Waterland Ireland agreed to acquire a stake in cross-Border electrical wholesaler Bellew Electrical during the month, marking its fifth big investment in a company on the island since its arrival here in 2019.

The deal will see Waterland become an active shareholder in the business alongside its founders, Oliver and Michael Bellew, who will use the investment to drive what Waterland has described as an ambitious growth plan.

Bellew Electrical Wholesale, headquartered in Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, has three other outlets – in Drogheda and Dundalk, Co Louth; and Castleblayney, Co Monaghan – selling electrical goods wholesale to the construction industry. It generated revenues of more than €30 million in the 12 months to the end of July 2022, with profits topping €3.1 million after tax.

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In keeping with Waterland’s strategy, the investment will also give Bellew firepower to acquire other businesses in the electrical wholesale sector.

“It’s a very fragmented market where there’s a lot of great independent electrical wholesalers working all across the country that are quite geographically focused,” Ms Dillon said. Growth will be driven both organically – through Bellew’s new distribution centre – but “also hopefully through partnerships with other electrical wholesalers”, she added.

Ms Dillon said Waterland did not have a set spending envelope for Irish companies and planned to continue to invest here over the coming years. The wider group closed its ninth fund, valued at €3.5 billion, in January 2023.