Lowell Group in £200m takeover
SPECIALIST debt collector Lowell Group has been sold to a private equity company for more than £200m.
Exponent Private Equity has acquired the Leeds-based group from a fund managed by Cabot Square Capital in a deal which will help finance Lowell's continuing expansion.
Lowell Group buys consumer debts from a range of blue-chip organisations and then manages the recovery of those debts, working closely with debtors to help them resolve their financial difficulties and pay off what they owe.
The group had annual turnover last year of more than £18m and services customer accounts with an asset value of £2.8bn.
The business employs more than 300 people and is on target to achieve continued strong growth in 2008.
Last month, it was recognised as one of the UK's fastest growing businesses after being named 'VC-backed business of the year' in the Fast Growth Business Awards 2008.
In a tough economic market Lowell said it expected to benefit from rising debt levels.
Following the takeover Adrian Hill, former chief executive of HFC Bank and general manager of Direct Business at HSBC, has become a non-executive-chairman of Lowell.
Lowell's chief executive James Cornell said: “We are delighted to have completed this deal and look forward to our partnership with Exponent which has a great track record for working with management teams.”
A spokesman for Exponent said: “We're very pleased to be backing James and his team and Adrian Hill whose extensive experience in UK consumer lending will make an important contribution to Lowell's future. We think the business has great potential and look forward to working alongside the management team in the next stage of its growth.”
A senior debt facility of £100m on a three-year term has been provided by a syndicate led by Europe Arab Bank with Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets and nabCapital (a division of National Australia Bank).
A further £30m of mezzanine financing has been provided by GSC Group and DE Shaw & Co.
Exponent Private Equity is an independent investment business dedicated to UK private equity and invests funds raised from some of the world's largest financial institutions.
It has completed nine investments so far including the acquisition of the TSL Education business from News International for £235m; the acquisition of Discovery Group which trades as Durrants Media Monitoring for £82m; the acquisition of Trainline from Virgin for £163m; and the acquisition of V-Holdings, the world's largest ship management business.
