Clearwater advises on £8m property services MBO
FF&P Private Equity, the private equity business of Fleming Family & Partners, has backed the management buyout of specialist property services company David Phillips in an £8m deal partly advised out of Birmingham.
David Phillips provides furniture to the UK’s professional residential property market and has sites in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. Turnover at the business, which is headquartered in London, is forecast to exceed £20m this year, up 30% on last year.
The firm has recently furnished more than 130 luxury apartments for London & Stamford and Knight Frank as part of the redevelopment of Highbury, the former stadium of Arsenal Football Club. Future growth is expected based on the UK’s buoyant rental sector.
FF&P has invested £8m alongside the existing management team and will take a majority stake in the business.
The Birmingham office of Clearwater Corporate Finance advised shareholders on the deal.
Gareth Iley, partner in Clearwater’s Birmingham office, worked on the deal.
He said: “David Philips has enjoyed impressive growth under the current management team and has become the UK’s leading provider of furniture to the UK professional property sector.
“With its ability to support landlords across the whole spectrum from the domestic landlord to the public sector, David Phillips is well-placed to enjoy further growth in its highly-fragmented market. This deal provides the capital structure to enable the company to capitalise on the many opportunities it has identified.”
Nicholas Gill, CEO of David Phillips, said: “We are very ambitious to continue developing David Phillips into the business that everyone in the company dreams of it becoming. With this investment from FF&P Private Equity, we not only have access to the greater capital resources that will enable us to accelerate our growth rate, but also a partner who shares our enthusiasm and ambition. We look forward to working with FF&P Private Equity to deliver our potential.”
Henry Sallitt, co-head of FF&P Private Equity, added: “We are delighted to back Nick and his team to continue the impressive growth they have achieved since 2005. The David Phillips business has a huge range of opportunities.
“The current constraints on the availability of mortgage finance are ensuring that the trend towards rental from owner-occupied is continuing. This presents significant growth opportunities in David Phillips’ core market of servicing private rental properties.”
FF&P was advised by Speechly Bircham and BDO. In addition to Clearwater, David Phillips was advised by Pinsent Masons and management by Richards Kibbe & Orbe.
