Axle Investment Unit Trust

The Axle Investment Unit Trust (the Fund) was established to acquire a 50% interest in Star Car Café Holdings (Star). Star is a privately owned company that operates within an atmosphere of determination and innovation, resulting in a fast growing, consumer driven and quality focused organisation. With 64 shopping centre locations around Australia and growing (more than its two key competitors), Star is a clear market leader with a trusted and recognised consumer brand.

As a highly profitable and cash generative business, Star delivers a compelling value proposition and presents itself as an attractive investment opportunity. The business model is simple yet smart, capital light and scalable. It has a centralised head office and does not physically operate the car washes which make Star nimble and capable of rolling out additional locations quickly and easily.

The existing growth plan is to open 50 additional locations over the next 3-5 years, complemented by M&A of smaller operators. The plan is underpinned by key market drivers, including:

  • Vehicle population growth;
  • Declining average vehicle age, as new cars tend to be washed more often;
  • Increased apartment living where home car washing facilities are not available;
  • Growth of an ‘outsourcing economy’ and ‘convenience economy’;
  • Increasing proportion of SUVs which cost more to wash; and
  • Shift towards hand washing of vehicles.

Additional opportunities lie in enhanced sales and marketing through improving the customer database and analytics, affiliate marketing, new service offerings and potential international expansion.

The Manager

Axle Equity Partners (the Manager) is the investment manager of the Fund. The manager has over 25 years’ experience and a solid track record investing in and working with SMEs to help support business growth plans and succession needs. Through building long-term partnerships, they add value in the areas of investment capital, business development and execution support.

The trustee of the fund is One AR Pty Ltd and members of the One Investment Group provide registry and administration services to the Fund

Should you have any queries, please contact us on enquiries@oneinvestment.com.au or call us on (02) 8277 0000.