Phoenix takes stake in Key Retirement Solutions in £35m deal

PRIVATE equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners has bought a majority stake in Lancashire company Key Retirement Solutions in a £35m deal.

Based in Preston, KRS is an independent distributor of equity release loans and a top 10 distributor of annuities. In the year to December 2012, it generated EBITDA of £5.2m, and employs 240 people.

The deal is mid-market investor Phoenix’s ninth investment from its  £450m fund, which was raised in 2010, and Phoenix’s latest regional investment since opening its Manchester office in 2011.

Completion of the deal remains subject to final regulatory approval.

Phoenix is backing the existing management team of KRS, led by chief executive Colin Taylor, and wants it to become the ‘go to’ brand for financial products and related services for consumers nearing or in retirement.

 The management team are investing alongside Phoenix in this acquisition.

Mr Taylor said: “Since launch, KRS has worked tirelessly to improve the level of financial advice available to those approaching or in retirement. We are excited about partnering with Phoenix, a firm with considerable experience of investing successfully  in the retirement segment of financial services, to continue to build KRS into the trusted brand for the over 55s.”

Sandy Muirhead, a Managing Partner at Phoenix, added: “We believe KRS represents a highly attractive platform from which to develop a broader retirement services proposition.  We have strong knowledge of this sector, by virtue of our highly successful previous investment in Partnership Assurance, which we created in 2005, and we look forward to working with the KRS management team to build another leading business in this sector.”

Advisers on the deal included Neal Shepherd, partner at Addleshaw Goddard in Manchester while Phil Abram from KPMG’s Manchester office carried out financial, tax and regulatory due diligence.