Debt recovery group makes second acquisition since private equity-backed MBO

Redditch-based judicial services and debt recovery group Bristow & Sutor has snapped up Sheffield-based credit management business Credit Style, its second acquisition since Sovereign Capital Partners backed the company’s MBO in 2017.

Bristow & Sutor support the collection of commercial and local authority debt types. The acquisition of Credit Style broadens the group’s services into wider debt recovery including in-house legal services and pre-legal collection services and will enable it to provide more customers with an end-to-end service.  The expanded group will manage around 1.9 million cases a year.

The Bristow & Sutor management team is led by Andy Rose, CEO, who has been in the business for over 30 years. Richard Martin and Steven Bramley, managing directors of Credit Style, will join the management team of the combined group.

Martin said: “We are pleased to have taken Credit Style from strength to strength and look forward to the new opportunities that joining the Bristow & Sutor Group brings. Our optimism is fortified by the fact that both businesses share key values around client service, quality and social responsibility. We would like to thank Mazars and LCF Law for their support throughout this process.”

Rose added: “We are delighted to welcome Credit Style and its fantastic team to the Group.  We share great business synergies and a reputation for providing a quality service delivery grounded in high standards of professionalism and business conduct. We look forward to further diversifying our service offering with Sovereign’s continued support.”

A Mazars deal advisory team of Oliver Hoffman, Chris Dale and Harry Radburn, based in Leeds, led the deal, while a corporate law team comprising Susan Clark, Clementine Duckett and Will Reynolds of LCF Law provided legal advice to the shareholders.

Oliver Hoffman, head of M&A at Mazars Deal Advisory, said: “This has been an excellent deal to be involved in and we are pleased to have achieved a successful outcome for the shareholders of Credit Style. We wish the management team well in achieving their vision for the combined group.”