LDC sale secures inaugural Deal of the Month
THE sale of LDC’s stake in a Midlands-based security firm has been named as the inaugural winner of TheBusinessDesk.com’s new Deal of the Month award.
TheBusinessDesk.com has joined forces with Birmingham Forward to celebrate the region’s deals and dealmakers. The Deal of the Month award is bestowed on the MBO, IPO, takeover or restructure that in the opinion of the judges shows the best combination of regional involvement, creativity and impact.
A panel of expert judges ruled that the deal which saw private equity firm LDC, part of Lloyds Banking Group, sell its stake in Vision Security Group to the Compass Group best met the criteria laid down for the award.
The VSG transaction was supported by a strong team of advisors, including Andy Currie and Justin Crowther at Catalyst Corporate Finance, who acted as lead advisors, while Stephen Kitts, of Eversheds, provided legal advice to the shareholders.
Mr Currie said: “Trade buyers are in a strong position if they are looking to add value to a business and they are eyeing up good firms which are well run.
“The VSG deal fits very much into this category and it is a good deal for all parties.”
John Garner, Investment Director at LDC, said: “This is the kind of a deal that ticks all the boxes.
“The trend is for decent companies to go for deals which they think will add value.”
He said VSG being a prime example of a well-run company, had attracted interested prior to the sale.
“But while there were a number of conversations, the situation was never quite right,” he said.
“VSG is probably positioned at number four in the security market behind the likes of Reliance and Chubb so the deal offers good opportunities for Compass,” he said.
Jackie Hendley, chair of Birmingham Forward and tax partner at KPMG said: “The winning deal was handled out of Birmingham, demonstrating the strength and depth of professional services in the region and enabling VSG to benefit from local knowledge, insight and expertise from Midland based corporate finance and legal teams. VSG have delivered substantial sales and profit growth with turnover increasing by more than 50% and employee numbers increasing by 2,000.
“LDC clearly added a great deal of value to the business over the three year investment before helping VSG to move on to the next stage of development through the sale to Compass Group.
“This deal is a worthy winner of our first Deal of the Month, and I look forward to the next round of judging in October.”
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The panel of judges comprises: Graham Nicoll, Barclays Wealth; Charlie Robinson, ISIS Equity Partners; David Clarke, Clarke Associates; Jamie Hope, Catalyst Corporate Finance (who abstained due to his firm’s involvement); Jon Gill, Eversheds; Darren Walker, Cobbetts; and Julian Smith, Mills & Reeve. The panel is chaired by the editor of TheBusinessDesk.com (West Midlands) Marc Reeves.
Mr Smith, partner for Mills & Reeve, right, said: “This is a classic success story. Investment in a fast growing Midlands based business, colossal growth and a sale to a blue chip buyer. Added to that, the expertise of the Midlands advisers was demonstrated by a strong cast of local players.”
Dealmakers don’t need to formally apply to be considered for Deal of the Month, but only deals reported on by TheBusinessDesk.com are eligible. To aid the process, a new ‘Deals Table’ feature has been developed to bring together in a handy-at-a-glance guide the key data for each deal.
