Cupa Group

Established: 1892

Country: Spain

Region: Galicia

Investors: The Carlyle Group

Based in Galicia (Spain), Cupa has its origins in 1892 and now employs over 2,300 people across the world. It is the global leader in the extraction, production and distribution of natural slate. The Company also owns the largest independent specialist distributor of roofing materials in the UK and is present in the distribution of natural stone products in France, Spain and Portugal.

In September 2016, Carlyle acquired a majority stake in Cupa Group, the largest producer of roofing premium natural slate and distributor of roofing materials and natural stone products, globally. Cupa was acquired from its founding families and the Spanish local savings bank Abanca, in partnership with the founding family CEO.

During Carlyle’s investment period, and together with management, Cupa delivered exceptional growth, and has strengthened its global leadership position. During Carlyle’s ownership of Cupa, the firm worked in partnership with founders to execute on value creation plans in distinct markets within the broader European industrial sector.

In May 2022, Carlyle sold its shareholding in Cupa Group to Brookfield following an exceptionally successful period of ownership.

+250

increase in employees worldwide in 5 years

+10%

market share for natural slate in 5 years

Geographic expansion

Strong core in South Western Europe, accelerated UK growth

Carlyle has been a valuable partner in Cupa’s growth story over the past 5 years, and we would like to thank the firm for their partnership, expertise and support in the building our global leadership position in the industry and in driving continuous innovation with a commitment to sustainability, which has become a cornerstone of the company.

Key achievements

Cupa grew significantly over Carlyle’s six-year ownership period, as a result of the following initiatives:

Investment in innovation

Carlyle supported the business in delivering high-quality, innovative projects for its clients
Carlyle supported Cupa’s investment in cutting edge technologies and capabilities, both organically and inorganically to keep Cupa at the forefront of digital and technology trends

Focus on operational excellence

Carlyle supported Cupa’s transition to becoming real pioneers within the slate industry, developing a number of solutions that automatised and improved the efficiency of its processing, including:

Smart sawing: automatically decide best cutting approach that maximizes yield
Splitting: automate manual splitting process
Smart selection: artificial intelligence to classify slate tiles
Advanced packaging: automate packaging process

Carlyle worked with Cupa on developing further projects, such as:

Implemented advanced pricing processes and tools in the company’s slate division
Working capital reduction and operational efficiency measures across the core business lines

Strategic acquisitions

During Carlyle’s ownership, Cupa has significantly grown through M&A, completing 7 highly complementary acquisitions, diversifying its offering in key international markets
This has helped the company consolidate its position as the leading multi-brand natural stone distributor in Southern West Europe, as well as grow its presence significantly in the UK
Under Carlyle’s stewardship, and partially through M&A, Cupa has developed the UK’s leading independent roofing specialist distributor, which has grown from 10 to 37 branches during Carlyle’s stewardship of the company
M&A now represents a core competency of the group, with multiple bolt-on transactions expected each year going forward

Focus on sustainability

Sustainability and ESG have remained an integral component of Cupa’s success, and we worked closely alongside management to deliver innovative and pioneering solutions to the market, focused on the reduction of energy and CO₂ consumption
Natural slate is widely recognised as the most ESG-friendly, energy efficient solution of choice and Carlyle has helped expand the company’s ESG footprint through significant investment in product innovation and increasing the energy efficiency of its manufacturing processes