NW advisors play prominent role in acquisitions
Two North West advisors have assisted with the completion of major acquisition deals.
Manchester-based global investment bank GCA Altium acted as exclusive M&A and debt advisor to Phoenix Equity Partners on its investment in Nexus Vehicle Rental, in a transaction that values Nexus at £142m.
While North West legal firm Forbes Solicitors represented Irish meat producer Kepak Group in its acquisition of 2 Sisters Red Meat Limited from Boparan Holdings.
Nexus is the leading technology platform for B2B vehicle rental in the UK and this marks the 24th technology transaction led by GCA in 2018.
This is the second transaction GCA Altium has completed with Nexus in 12 months, following the December 2017 refinancing, and further extends GCA’s leadership in the mobility technology space, with other notable transactions including the sale of Urban Engines to Google and the investment in Radius Payment Solutions by Inflexion.
Nexus connects corporate customers with vehicle rental companies through its proprietary online booking and rental management system, IRIS.
The system provides Nexus’s 1,000 corporate customers with access to more than 550,000 vehicles sourced from 220 rental companies across 2,000 locations.
Leeds-based Nexus was established in 1999 and has since achieved impressive growth through its highly differentiated service proposition, industry-leading technology and strong market position.
The investment by Phoenix will allow Nexus to continue to increase its penetration of the corporate market and develop its technology platform.
Phoenix has acquired a majority shareholding in the company and the transaction provides an exit for previous investor Bowmark Capital.
The Nexus transaction was led by GCA Altium’s Stuart Warriner (M&A advisory) and Richard Clark (debt advisory).
Stuart Warriner, managing director at GCA Altium, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the Phoenix team on this transaction. Nexus has an outstanding market position and I have been fortunate to advise the Nexus shareholders previously – in Phoenix they have an ideal partner to support their growth aspirations.”
David Brennan, chief executive of Nexus, said: “The investment by Phoenix sets us up for our next exciting phase of growth and innovation as the UK’s leading tech-driven mobility provider, and demonstrates confidence in the business, senior management and wider team to continue our track record of outstanding performance. We are delighted to have Phoenix on board.”
Meanwhile, the acquisition of 2 Sisters Red Meat fits Kepak’s plans to increase the value and scale of their company in markets that are complementary to their existing businesses.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, is aimed at strengthening Kepak’s meat supply partnerships with its UK and EU customers.
The 2 Sisters Red Meat business is operated from four key production sites: McIntosh Donald in Portlethen, Scotland, and three St Merryn sites in Merthyr, Glamorgan, and Bodmin and Victoria, Cornwall.
The four sites and cold storage facilities process and market around 250,000 cattle and more than a million lambs annually from 13,000-plus UK farmers.
Forbes, which has offices in Blackburn, Accrington, Central Lancashire, Preston, Chorley, Leeds and Manchester, advised Kepak on the share purchase and the property acquisition aspects of the deal.
Partner and head of corporate at Forbes, Pauline Rigby, said: “It was a pleasure to work with the Kepak Group on the acquisition of 2 Sisters Red Meat.
“This transaction demonstrates the expertise and breadth of resource our corporate team has, enabling it to successfully support our clients with their strategic growth plans.
“Supply chain consolidation is now more strategically important than ever and this is an example of the strategy behind a number of our clients, especially within the manufacturing industry.
“We wish Kepak all the best with this strategic move which we are sure will take them from strength to strength.”
