NorthEdge passes £100m threshold with pawnbroker deal

PRIVATE equity investor NorthEdge has sealed its eighth deal from its maiden fund with North East-based independent pawnbroker Ramsdens Financial.

Manchester-based NorthEdge, which has recently invested in the legal services and toilet roll manufacturing, will help Stockton on Tees-based Ramsdens grow its branch network – which currently stands at 120 – and also expand its product range.

The deal means NorthEdge has now invested £100m in 18 months from its first fund which closed at £225m.

Andy Ball, partner and chief investment officer at NorthEdge Capital, director James Hall and investment director Tom Rowley led the deal. Mr Ball and Mr Hall join the board as non-executive directors.

Non-executive director Andy Meehan also joins the board. Since 2006, Mr Meehan has been chairman of a number of private equity-backed companies including GHD, American Golf and St Tropez, and was previously finance director at Selfridges & Co.

Peter Kenyon, chief executive of Ramsdens, said: “Andy and James of NorthEdge have been easy and straightforward to deal with from the outset. They both understand what Ramsdens is trying to achieve and how we meet the needs of our customers. We look forward to taking Ramsdens on to the next stage of its development as we see good growth potential in our target markets.”

Mr Hall said: “Ramsdens has a strong position in a niche and exciting part of the financial services market. It has doubled its store portfolio over the last three years, which provides the business with a robust platform from which it will continue to grow through its focus on transparency and excellent reputation.

“We join the company at a particularly exciting time. Increasing regulation in the marketplace is opening up new opportunities, while driving standards and practices ever higher, which is good news for Ramsdens. We look forward to working alongside the management team to drive the further growth of the business.”