Thursday 3rd January 2008
Bank of Scotland Corporate today announced that its Integrated Finance South regional team has made an investment in Charterhouse Print Management to enhance the equity participation of the senior management team and to facilitate an exit for retired shareholders. Bank of Scotland has delivered a comprehensive institutional debt and equity solution for the deal. Management will hold an 80% majority equity stake and continue to enjoy complete strategic and operational control of the company.
The partnership with Bank of Scotland Corporate will enable Charterhouse to accelerate its growth strategy both organically and through strategic acquisitions.
Charterhouse is the UK's market leading independent marketing print management company with long term relationships with brand-led blue chip organisations. Founded in 1970 by Brian Mahoney, the company provides UK and multinational organisations with print management and complementary services. Gary Mahoney, the CEO, has led the company since 1998 when his father, Brian, retired.
Gary Mahoney will remain as Chief Executive to continue leading a strong and dynamic senior management team. The company has grown considerably over the last few years due to its high quality, bespoke, full service solutions. Charterhouse provides customers with fully outsourced marketing print management solutions managing all aspects of their marketing print.
Speaking of the deal, Gary Mahoney said:
"We are delighted to form a partnership with Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance and we look forward to working with them in the coming years to deliver even greater value to our clients and stakeholders. Charterhouse has a tremendous opportunity to build on its market leading position and we are looking forward to the future with great confidence."
The transaction was led for the Bank of Scotland by Nigel Irvine and Owen Sennitt with support from David Lock and Jamie Foster.
Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance is heavily involved in the business community across the South of England and South Wales, with a team of 12 investment professionals focussed purely on regional MBOs. By providing equity and debt from a single source and incentivising management with both complete control over their destiny and the majority of future equity upside, BOSIF has become the clear market-leading equity investor in the UK MBO mid-market.
Nigel Irvine, Regional Director of Integrated Finance said:
"Charterhouse is a unique and highly differentiated business, driven by the vision of Gary and his first class management team. We are very excited about the prospects for this investment and the very supportive partnership we have created here today provides a firm foundation for considerable future growth"
Deloitte & Touche LLP (Ian Barton, Steve White and Matt Stamp) provided Corporate Finance Advisory services leading the transaction and advising the principal shareholder. Deloitte & Touche Transaction Services provided a full suite of Financial, Commercial and IT due diligence on the deal and Deloitte & Touche Tax Advisory advised the shareholders as vendors and on their investment going forward. Ernst and Young acted as Bank of Scotland's corporate finance advisors and Osborne Clarke acted as legal advisors to both Bank of Scotland and Newco. Travers Smith provided legal advice on the transaction to the shareholders and Stafford Corporate Consulting advised management on the transaction.
Notes for editors:
About Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance
Bank of Scotland Corporate, part of HBOS plc, has a reputation for excellence in the provision of corporate finance, delivering innovative funding solutions across a range of markets. Bank of Scotland Corporate employs over 8,300 employees. With experience across many areas of corporate finance, including Integrated Finance, Joint Ventures, Structured Finance, Acquisition Finance, Infrastructure Finance and Housing Finance, Bank of Scotland can draw on an expert pool of professionals with proven track records. Since launching its ground-breaking Integrated Finance unit back in 2000, the Bank has transacted over 100 deals with a total funding in excess of £10 billion. Today Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance provides funding to more mid-market MBOs than any other equity funder in the UK by providing a unique one-stop financing solution which meets all the funding requirements for a business undergoing a transaction.
The Charterhouse deal brings the number of new investments by Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance to 12 so far in 2007, following the recent Keepmoat, Polypipe, David Lloyd Leisure, M&H Plastics, Ainscough Crane Hire, Lambert Smith Hampton and Fishers transactions. Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance was the leading UK mid-market equity investor in 2005 and 2006 and remains on track to further its lead in 2007.
About Charterhouse
Charterhouse is Europe's leading independent print management company. They are driven by a responsible and imaginative strategy, helping international clients communicate their messages and brands to global audiences by sourcing the production of their marketing communications. Charterhouse is an innovative, perceptive and flexible alternative to established competitors. It is a carbon-neutral company.
