Headquartered in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, with manufacturing and packing operations in Manchester, Dri-Pak is a leading supplier of branded and retailer own brand cleaning and laundry products and the UK’s largest independent salt packer. Dri-Pak’s product portfolio includes table salt, dishwasher salt, soda crystals, white vinegar cleaner and liquid soap, which it sells into the UK and European retail sector.
With a 50-year heritage, Dri-Pak is a third-generation family business and Quercus has been working closely with the family since 2019 to formulate an exit strategy and prepare the business for sale. Following receipt of unsolicited approaches, through our extensive relationships we identified Finfinero as a logical buyer for the business and managed the sale process from start to finish.
With offices in London and Dubai, CCL is an established and experienced provider of regulatory compliance services. The business was founded in 1998 by Ralph Lindeyer and has since developed a comprehensive range of compliance services which it provides to a blue-chip client base across the globe.
Headquartered in Dublin, Waystone is the worldwide leader in governance, risk and compliance, representing leading investment funds and managers globally. Partnering with institutional investors, investment funds and asset managers, the group builds, supports and protects investment structures and strategies worldwide. Waystone supports asset managers with more than $1tn in assets.
CCL is Waystone’s ninth acquisition and now forms part of a newly formed Compliance Services division. Whilst Waystone has traditionally offered compliance services to funds, this is the first time it has offered services to fund managers at a corporate level, vastly expanding its addressable market.
Headquartered in central London, Marclay is recognised as a leader in the provision of cyber-security services.
The business protects the digital assets of some of the world’s most high-profile individuals and organisations. Its cyber-incident and investigations team specialises in supporting businesses who have suffered a cyber-breach or similar security incident with industry leading methodology and forensic capability. It has built a reputation over the last six years amongst many London law firms, where they are widely regarded as the go-to firm for expert advice in challenging cyber security related situations.
Headquartered in High Wycombe, Simply Waste is the leading provider of recycling and waste management services in London and the South East of England. Founded in 2006 by James and Natalie Capel the business has a major operational footprint with its main site located close to Heathrow Airport providing unparalleled access to the buoyant London market, as well as the Home Counties and has regional depots spanning the South of England.
Quercus has been working closely with James and Natalie since 2019 to help formulate an exit strategy including preparing the business for sale. We marketed Simply Waste to a select audience and advised on all aspects of the transaction from deal strategy and preparation through to marketing and finally negotiation of pricing and deal structure. A key part of our role was dealing with the challenges presented by Covid-19 and ensuring that the transaction remained on track during Lockdown.
Monty’s Bakehouse is a leading innovator of high-quality packaged food solutions for travel markets across the world with offices in the United Arab Emirates and manufacturing sites across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The company was founded by CEO, Matt Crane, in 2003 and is headquartered in Surrey.
By combining the culinary expertise of SATS with Monty’s Bakehouse product and packaging innovation, the group intends to enhance its food solutions for aviation customers and support growth into new customer segments. Customers across Asia will benefit from the sustainably-packaged, handheld snacks that Monty’s Bakehouse has been providing to a growing roster of premium airlines and other customer segments across the world.
Headquartered in Edenbridge, Kent with a manufacturing facility in Warminster, Wiltshire and a software development office in Leicester, MARCO specialises in the design, manufacture and commissioning of integrated, productivity improvement solutions primarily for the fresh produce and food industry. MARCO’s systems allow efficient measuring, monitoring and controlling of a client’s entire operation; improving operator efficiency and productivity through minimising overpack/giveaway and enhanced operator accountability, whilst at the same time reducing waste and providing full traceability throughout the whole production process.
Founded in 1985 by brothers Murray and Russel Hilborne, MARCO now employs around 70 staff across its three sites and has built an enviable portfolio of customers across a broad range of end-market segments.
ATS Automation uses its industry-leading knowledge and global capabilities to serve the sophisticated automation systems’ needs of multinational customers in industries such as life sciences, computer/electronics, energy, transportation and consumer products. The Group employs approximately 4,400 people at 23 manufacturing facilities and over 50 offices across North America, Europe and Asia.
Bringing MARCO into the ATS Automation Group will further enhance ATS’s technology offering in the fresh produce, food and pharmaceuticals segments whilst also providing MARCO with access to ATS’s global network to drive additional revenue growth.
iCareHealth is one of the UK’s leading providers of software solutions for the social care sector, on the sale of the company to the Access Group, whose Health and Social Care division includes solutions used by over 6,000 registered providers in residential and domiciliary care.
The combination with Access will enable iCareHealth to access a new level of expertise in the provision of integrated software solutions, accelerate product development provide a wider pool of resources.
The sale marks the third transaction the Quercus team have advised key members of the iCareHealth Board on in a relationship that spans 12 years.
Headquartered in Bristol with a recently established South East presence, BBS is a highly respected specialist firm of workplace pensions consultants, actuaries, investment advisers and administrators providing a full suite of pensions advice and management solutions for trustees and employers. Founded in 1997, BBS has grown to become one of, if not, the leading independent pensions consultancy in the South West, employing over 125 people with a broad client base ranging from local businesses to large, blue-chip organisations.
Broadstone is an acquisitive group having made four acquisitions since Livingbridge invested in 2016, with three of those acquisitions being in the past 12 months. BBS represents Broadstone’s largest acquisition to date and provides them with significant additional scale and increased breadth of services as well as significant cross-selling opportunities across the enlarged client base.
Intelligentgolf is the market leading provider of cloud-based software services to the UK golf industry. With over 500 customers worldwide, the platform is used to provide tournament management, handicapping, membership, tee time management website and electronic point of sale systems to golf clubs and organisations throughout the UK and beyond.
The deal represents the tenth company to join ClearCourse since its foundation in October 2018.
ClearCourse was founded to add value in UK businesses that provide software and payment processing services to a variety of membership organisations including non-profits, trade associations, trade unions, sporting bodies and charities. It acquires innovative businesses with strong management teams and complementary offerings, facilitating operational and commercial synergies and enabling cross-selling of relevant products and services.
Intelligentgolf is the first acquisition ClearCourse has made in the sports & leisure sector and is an important milestone, expanding its offering into a new market and enabling its existing companies to offer their solutions to new end users.
Headquartered in Brownhills in the West Midlands with further operations in Dudley, ERG is one of the UK’s largest privately owned hazardous and non-hazardous waste management groups. The founder shareholders have been transforming the hazardous waste industry for more than 20 years, driven by a vision to reduce materials away from landfill and provide clients with cost effective and environmentally compliant waste management solutions.
The combined business will have greatly increased scale enhancing its competitiveness in the marketplace as a result of cross-selling opportunities and increased economies of scale. It will also provide Red with access to ERG’s market-leading sales and client support team and sought-after and innovative European trans-frontier shipment routes, unlocking further opportunities for the enlarged group.
