Business advisor helps telematics giant clinch growth investment
PwC’s North West corporate finance team has helped a Crewe telematics specialist clinch investment worth more than £40m to support future growth.
The deal gives Three Hills Capital Partners a significant minority investment in Trak Global Group (TGG).
PwC used a multi-disciplinary team to provide a full suite of sell-side advice to support TGG on its investment.
TGG is one of the world’s leading telematics technology companies with operations in the UK, Europe and North America.
The combined group business has long-standing partnerships with global insurers, mobility operators and motor manufacturers, gathering and interpreting data from connected devices to help organisations manage driver and vehicle risk.
Its customers include RSA, Volkswagen Financial Services, Nationwide Insurance (USA), Allianz, Europcar and Zipcar.
The group also owns and operates multi award-winning telematics insurance broker Carrot Insurance. TGG employs more than 250 people across four international offices.
PwC’s corporate finance team was led by Daniel Gallagher, Chris Whitehead and Matthew Hollingsworth.
The financial due diligence team was led by Jonathan Cooper, David Burke and Andy Crockford. Commercial due diligence was provided by Neil Bindoff, Barry Jaber, Ainsley Mayhew-Seers and Chris Burkitt, with tax support provided by Adam Waller and Gill Pooler.
Vendor legal advice was provided by Jonathan Robinson and Katy Phillips (DWF).
Dan Gallagher said: “We are delighted to have supported Trak Global on their third transaction in three years, helping to drive international expansion, realise value for shareholders and investing into the business to support growth for years to come.
“This continues our strong record of transactions for high-growth technology businesses across the North in 2019.”
TGG Group chief executive, Nick Corrie, said the partnership creates a capital structure that will “enable us to more rapidly execute our ambitious growth plans, both organic and by acquisition, to become the global leader providing connected, data-driven technology solutions for the insurance and shared mobility markets.”
He said the investment from THCP will accelerate the deployment of the next generation of IMS’s cloud-based, device-agnostic single telematics platform, DriveSync6, and enable the deployment of new solutions and services for customers.
“We will also be continuing to invest in innovation, such as our pioneering work in road usage charging in the US and developing IP around connected car services that our customers in UBI and mobility will jointly benefit from, particularly as we continue to see the convergence of these two markets.”
Nick Corrie added: “This is a real milestone for TGG as we celebrate a decade in business.
“In THCP we’ve found an investment partner that believes in our vision, is very well-aligned culturally and possesses the expertise to help steer the business through what will be an exciting phase of growth.
“THCP’s solution was unique in the market and matches our ambitions for the future. Worldwide, TGG already connects half a million vehicles and we are aiming to increase this figure exponentially over the coming years.”
Joe Jefferies, UK coverage at THCP, who will join TGG’s board, said: “Trak Global is our first investment in the IoT and telematics space, and during our detailed diligence into the sector it quickly became clear that TGG was the stand-out performer.
“The combination of management team strength and vision, as well as the company’s relentless focus on forming true partnerships with their customers, made for a compelling investment case.
“We are delighted to be Trak Global’s partners in what we expect to be a period of exceptional and transformative growth. It is another example of Three Hills’ commitment to backing ambitious founders and management teams who are looking for an alternative solution to traditional private equity structures.”
