Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), a division within Old Mutual Alternative Investments, has acquired a 70% stake in MoreCorp, a sport, leisure and wellness business underpinned by technology with interests in golf and cycling.

Additional shareholders include MoreCorp co-founder Darryl Egdes (20%) and management (10%).

MoreCorp's golf interests include its large format, specialist golf stores the Pro shop, which is complemented by themed golf practice ranges and online golf booking facilities, among others.

Its cycling interests include cycle lab, a chain of stores selling a wide range of international brands, with its flagship store in fourways, Johannesburg.

Other cycling interests include a cycling club, cycle park and cycling fitness programmes.

Chumani Kula, OMPE Investment Principal, said: “The opportunity to buy MoreCorp arose when Darryl’s business partner, Rhys Hughes, who founded The Pro Shop 39 years ago, decided to sell his share in the company allowing us to also buy out the group’s other significant shareholders.”

“We saw MoreCorp as an entrepreneurial, cash generative business with a great management team, a strong market position in its niche and attractive growth prospects,” he said.

In 1976, the founders of MoreCorp started The Pro Shop business, which they have built into the largest retail player in the golf sector, with its large format speciality golf stores selling all major golf brands.

It has used its retail stores to support and build other golf-related businesses such as themed golf practice ranges and online golf booking platforms.

More recently, it has transported this model to include cycling, which it identified as a fast-growing sport in the high LSM sector.

In 2013, MoreCorp acquired Cycle Lab, South Africa’s largest cycling retail chain, which it has combined with other cycling-related businesses such as cycle parks, cycling clubs and cycling training programmes.

“I’m very excited about the Old Mutual Private Equity partnership, not only for the capital injection which allows us to fast-track our expansion plans in cycling, but also for helping us to build the strategic, financial and governance capacity necessary for the growth we see ahead,” said MoreCorp CEO Darryl Egdes.

MoreCorp is Old Mutual Private Equity’s fifth investment in Fund IV, a R4bn fund.

“We believe we can support MoreCorp’s deep retailing knowledge and exciting growth prospects with strategic input, active partnership, capital and financial expertise,” said OMPE Investment Principal Farhad Khan.

“We expect the combination of these skills and the chemistry we have with management to ultimately result in scaling the business into a more formidable group in its space,” he added.