Deals round-up: Palatine; KBS Corporate & more
MANCHESTER based investment firm, Palatine Private Equity, has completed the £34.8m sale of IT services business Selection for to AIM listed Castle Street Investment (CSI).
Palatine backed a £15m MBO in December 2011 and it backed a successful buy and build strategy.
Tony Dickin, partner at Palatine Private Equity said: “I believe Selection is now in a strong position to capitalise further on the favourable market conditions within the SME market and continue the next phase of its development under Castle Street’s ownership.”
A team at BDO provided corporate finance advice on the transaction. Rebecca Grisewood at Gateley in Manchester provided legal advice.
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BOLTON-based KBS Corporate has advised Scottish telematics firm Route Monkey on its £9.1m sale to telematics provider Trakm8 Holdings.
It is the second multi-million pound sale by KBS to AIM-listed Trakm8 in the last in seven months – and is the 10 multi-million pound deal it has completed over the last few months.
John Hunt, corporate finance director at KBS Corporate, said: “The acquisition of Route Monkey by Trakm8 creates a clear win-win situation for both companies.
“Both Route Monkey and Trakm8 operate in dynamic and growing market sectors and the coming together of these businesses is certain to create excellent growth and expansion opportunities.”
Colin Ferguson, chief executive of Route Monkey, said: “KBS Corporate Finance worked with us from the onset of the sale process and identified numerous potential acquirers. Ultimately, Trakm8 emerged as our preferred choice and KBS worked closely with our legal advisers to deliver a result which was excellent for the company, our shareholders, management team and employees.”
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MANCHESTER professionals have advised on the restructuring of a London-based charity.
Matthew Dunham, partner at Smith & Williamson was appointed joint administrator of the Institute for Sustainability and sold a significant proportion of the business and assets to another not-for-proft organisation, the Building Research Establishment .
IFS, based in the heart of London’s ‘Tech City’, went into administration on January 5 after a period of financial uncertainty. The organisation had been established in 2009 to accelerate the delivery of economically, environmentally and socially sustainable cities and communities.
Smith & Williamson’s work with IFS is the latest in a number of successful reorganisations of troubled charities which have been undertaken by the firm’s Manchester restructuring and recovery team in recent months.
Matthew Dunham said: “The no- for-profit and Charitable sectors are facing significant issues as a result of the impact of government cutbacks, fundraising deficits and the use of technology. This case demonstrates the need for Trustees to take early advice in order to protect the organisation’s objectives and the jobs of the staff. We’ve developed a number of tools specifically to assist Trustees and their executive to address problems within the sector”.
The IFS and the joint administrators were provided with legal support from Brabners LLP, including Adrian Rogers (restructuring), and Stephen Claus (charity law).
