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Alteri Investors and Apollo Funds launch second European retail sector investment vehicle

Alteri

26th August 2019

– Capital commitment doubled, reflecting success of first venture
– Scope for further Apollo backing extends capacity for larger deals

London, 26 August 2019: Specialist retail sector investor Alteri Investors (“Alteri”) today announces the launch of its second investment vehicle, Alteri Investors II (“Alteri II”) with the backing of funds and accounts managed by affiiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo,” and such funds and accounts, “Apollo Funds”) (NYSE: APO).

Alteri has developed an impressive track record since its launch in late 2014, as a joint venture between Apollo Funds and Alteri management. With in-house operational expertise and a remit to source investment opportunities across the European retail sector, Alteri has built a broad portfolio of businesses. It has had particular success in Germany, including CBR Fashion, one of Germany’s leading womenswear businesses, and leading multi-channel retailer Versandhaus Walz, which has successfully undergone a comprehensive turnaround. The UK’s leading rent-to-own specialist Brighthouse remains the other current investment within the existing portfolio. Exited investments cover a range of equity, debt and direct lending transactions across multiple retail sectors and Western European geographies, notably in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK.

Following Alteri’s successful first venture, Apollo Funds have committed more than double the amount of capital to Alteri II. Additionally, Alteri II may have access to additional funds to co-invest in larger transactions with funds managed by Apollo, enabling it to target businesses with sales of up to c.£3 billion. Alteri II will continue to invest in European retailers with sales in excess of £100 million, targeting a broad range of opportunities from performing businesses facing structural or stakeholder issues, to companies which require fundamental financial and operational transformation.

Alteri II is expected to expand the Alteri platform’s geographic footprint with greater emphasis on the Spanish and Italian markets, alongside its existing core markets of the UK, DACH, Benelux and Nordic regions.

Alteri Founder and CEO Gavin George stated, “We are extremely excited about the launch of our second investment vehicle. We believe that Alteri’s unique combination of financial firepower and retail expertise can help management teams unlock the potential in their businesses. With the European retail market going through a truly transformational period we believe the time is right to launch our second venture. With continued backing from Apollo Funds, we look forward to an even more successful future.”

Rob Ruberton, Apollo Partner and co-head of the firm’s Hybrid Value strategy, commented, “We are delighted with Alteri’s performance to date, which has exceeded our expectations and delivered over 2x returns on capital. Doubling our capital commitment underlines our confidence in Gavin and the Alteri team’s ability to source and execute profitable, downside-protected investments in the retail sector.”

About Alteri Investors

Alteri Investors is an operationally driven specialist investor, focused exclusively on the European retail sector. It was launched in November 2014, as a joint venture between Alteri’s management and funds managed by affiliates of leading alternative investment manager Apollo Global Management, LLC.

Retail sector expertise, a hands-on style and deep transformational skills lie at the heart of Alteri’s approach, enabling it to support management teams and optimise value creation. Alteri’s proven expertise is combined with access to substantial capital for investment. Alteri is based in Mayfair, London.

About Apollo

Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $303 billion as of March 31, 2019 in private equity, credit and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

Contact

Maitland/AMO

Clinton Manning
Sam Cartwright

020 7379 5151

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TA Associates Announces Strategic Growth Investment in Gong Cha Group

TA associates

BOSTON, LONDON and HONG KONG – TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to make a strategic growth investment in the Gong Cha Group (“Gong Cha”), a leading global provider of premium quality bubble and milk tea.

The founders of Gong Cha Korea will participate in the investment alongside TA. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in early October, were not disclosed.

Gong Cha’s main offering, Taiwanese-style bubble tea, is sweet milk tea infused with pearl-shaped tapioca. The company also offers a variety of seasonal and specialty tea-based drinks. Utilizing primarily a franchise model, Gong Cha reaches consumers through a variety of retail store formats, including urban and suburban stores, as well as take-out shops, mall-based stores and kiosks, often in high traffic areas such as train and metro stations. There are more than 1,000 Gong Cha stores in 17 countries across the globe, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Gong Cha was founded in 2006 in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

“We are very pleased to invest in Gong Cha, a high-growth business that is among the world’s most recognized tea brands,” said Edward Sippel, a Managing Director at TA Associates and Co-head of Asia operations of TA Associates Asia Pacific Ltd. “We are incredibly impressed with how successfully the management team has grown Gong Cha into such a profitable, global business. We will work closely with management in supporting the company’s franchise partners to further Gong Cha’s strong business model. We are looking forward to this partnership and helping to grow the Gong Cha brand in new and existing markets.”

“We welcome TA Associates as investors in Gong Cha,” said Euiyeol Kim, CEO of the Gong Cha Group. “With its scale, large capital base and global footprint, TA is an ideal partner for Gong Cha at this stage in our growth. TA offers the truly deep global resources and experience that will help us further strengthen our market position and allow us to even more effectively build our leading global tea brand.”

“I am very pleased to join Gong Cha at this important juncture in the company’s evolution,” said Peter Rodwell, incoming Executive Chairman of Gong Cha. “Gong Cha’s success is a result of the management team’s persistent customer-centric focus on quality, innovation and service. I am confident that with TA’s long history of building value in growing businesses, we are poised to bring Gong Cha’s quality tea products to many more consumers around the world.” Rodwell brings more than three decades of retail food and beverage and franchising experience to the Gong Cha Group, having led McDonald’s expansion across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

“The global tea market has enjoyed steady growth over the past several years, and milk tea, including bubble tea, remains a staple beverage across Asia and increasingly around the world,” said Michael Berk, a Managing Director at TA Associates. “Globally, the tea market is estimated to be larger than that of coffee, with continued expected growth. Given these market dynamics, we believe that Gong Cha is very well-positioned to further expand the company’s presence and brand throughout the world.”

About Gong Cha Group
Founded in 2006, Gong Cha is one of the most recognized bubble and milk tea brands in the world. Gong Cha, which translates to “tribute tea for the emperor,” provides quality tea, products and services, sourcing product from select Taiwanese tea estates and offering customers freshly brewed tea every four hours. Since its founding, Gong Cha has expanded to more than 1,000 locations in 17 countries, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, please visit www.gong-cha.com/en.

About TA Associates
TA Associates is one of the most experienced global growth private equity firms. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $32.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $2 billion per year. The firm’s more than 85 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

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Gladstone Investment Corporation Exits its Investment in Alloy Die Casting Corporation

Gladstone

August 26, 2019

MCLEAN, Va., Aug. 26, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Gladstone Investment Corporation(NASDAQ: GAIN) (“Gladstone Investment”) announced today the sale of its investment in GAIN ADC Holdings, LLC, parent company to Alloy Die Casting Corporation (“ADC”), to PWP Growth Equity on August 23, 2019.  The transaction resulted in a significant realized gain on Gladstone Investment’s equity investment and full repayment at par of the debt investment. Gladstone Investment acquired ADC in October 2013.

ADC is a leading provider of value-added manufacturing and supply-chain solutions for highly- engineered metal components serving the aerospace, defense, medical, automotive, and industrial markets.

“Gladstone Investment has enjoyed a strong partnership with ADC’s management team over the last several years,” said Christopher Lee, Managing Director of Gladstone Investment.  “Rick Simpson, President, and the entire management team have achieved outstanding results in both growing and transforming the business and we wish them continued success.”

“With the sale of ADC and from inception in 2005, Gladstone Investment has exited 19 of its management supported buy-outs, generating significant net realized gains on these investment exits in aggregate,” said David Dullum, President of Gladstone Investment. “Our strategy and capability as a buyout fund with our investment approach of realizing gains on equity, while generating strong current income during the investment period, provides meaningful value to shareholders.”

Gladstone Investment Corporation is a publicly traded business development company that seeks to make significant equity and secured debt investments in lower middle market private businesses in the United States in connection with acquisitions, changes in control and recapitalizations. Additional information can be found at www.gladstoneinvestment.com.

For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly distribution-paying Gladstone family of funds, please visit www.gladstonecompanies.com.

Forward-looking Statements:

The statements in this press release regarding the longer-term prospects of Gladstone Investment and ADC and its management team, and the ability of Gladstone Investment and ADC to be successful in the future are “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements inherently involve certain risks and uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Although these statements are based on Gladstone Investment’s current beliefs that are believed to be reasonable as of the date of this press release, a number of factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including those factors described from time to time in Gladstone Investment’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gladstone Investmentundertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE:  Gladstone Investment Corporation

For further information: Gladstone Investment Corporation, 703-287-5810

Source: Gladstone Investment Corporation

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Dynatect expands into China and adds further scale in Europe through the acquisition of Thodacon

3I

3i-backed Dynatect, a leading manufacturer of engineered, mission critical components for the protection of equipment and people, has acquired Thodacon, a leading provider of way-wipers and other critical components for the industrial machining and automation markets. Dynatect is acquiring Thodacon from its CEO and founder,who will stay with the business, and a minority shareholder.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in China with operations in Germany, Thodacon is a leading provider of way-wipers which are industrial wipers designed into machining equipment to protect the machines from dirt, oiland dust during the metal cutting process. The company also sells covers and bellows primarily into the same markets. Thodacon has approximately 160 employees,operates out of two locations near Munich, Germany and Wuxi, near Shanghai, China, and generates revenue from a global customer base.Dynatect has been an OEM customer of Thodacon for over 10 years and servicing the full diversity of OEMs will remain a foundation of the business.

The acquisition will expand Dynatect’s customer base, with increased exposure to European and Asian markets. It will also provide Dynatect with an established manufacturing and assembly operation in China. Finally, the acquisition will offer cross-selling opportunities across both companies.

Mark Thurman, CEO, Dynatect commented:“We are very pleased to be partnering with Thodacon as the two businesses are highly complementary, and we would like to welcome Thomas Vorpahl, CEO and founder of Thodacon, to the Dynatect team and to his new position as President of Dynatect Asia. We are excited by the prospect of accelerating our international growth strategy and customer base.”

Thomas Vorpahl, CEO, Thodacon added:“I am excited to see Thodacon joining forces with Dynatect to fuel the next phase of development. Dynatect has a broader portfolio of products including cable carrier, clutches and roll-up doors which will increase our ability to serve existing customers and reach new customers.”Richard Relyea, Partner at 3i, US added:“Thodacon has grown rapidly since it was founded, driven by its tremendous value proposition to its customers in China and Europe. Combining it with Dynatect will materially accelerate Dynatect’s ambitions for growth in China and Asia more broadly. It will also open up significant opportunity for the combined business in Europe and provide Dynatect the ability to better serve its existing customers’ operations across the globe.”-Ends-

For further information, contact:3i Group plc Silvia Santoro

Investor enquiries Kathryn van der Kroft

Media enquiries Tel: +44 20 7975 3258 Email: silvia.santoro@3i.comTel: +44 20 7975 3021Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.comNotes to editors:

About Dynatect

Dynatect, established in 1945, is a leading designer and manufacturer of highly engineered protective systems used to safeguard components, people, and equipment in dynamic motion. The Company’s solutions provide longer uptime and a safer work environment. Dynatect’s product portfolio primarily includes covers, bellows, cable carriers, roll-up doors, ball screws, slip clutches, and molded elastomeric products which are sold into a variety of industries. The company is headquartered in Wisconsin, USA, and operates in four locations in the US and one location in Europe.

About Thodacon

Thodacon, established in 2007, is leading provider of highly engineered protective components to the global machine tool industry. The Company’s product portfolio includes way wipers, bellows and covers. Thodacon has approximately 160 employees and is headquartered in Wuxi, China with two sales and distribution offices in Germany.

About 3i Group

3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specialising in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America. 3i’s Private Equity team provides investment solutions for growing companies, backing entrepreneurs and management teams of mid-market companies with an EV typically between €100m -€500m. We back international growth plans, providing access to our network and expertise to accelerate the growth of companies across the consumer, industrials and business and technology services industries.

For further information, please visit: www.3i.com

 

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Dynatect expands into China and adds further scale in Europe through the acquisition of Thodacon

3I

3i-backed Dynatect, a leading manufacturer of engineered, mission critical components for the protection of equipment and people, has acquired Thodacon, a leading provider of waywipers and other critical components for the industrial machining and automation markets. Dynatect is acquiring Thodacon from its CEO and founder, who will stay with the business, and a minority shareholder.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in China with operations in Germany, Thodacon is a leading provider of way-wipers which are industrial wipers designed into machining equipment to protect the machines from dirt, oil and dust during the metal cutting process. The company also sells covers and bellows primarily into the same markets. Thodacon has approximately 160 employees, operates out of two locations near Munich, Germany and Wuxi, near Shanghai, China, and generates revenue from a global customer base. Dynatect has been an OEM customer of Thodacon for over 10 years and servicing the full diversity of OEMs will remain a foundation of the business.

The acquisition will expand Dynatect’s customer base, with increased exposure to European and Asian markets. It will also provide Dynatect with an established manufacturing and assembly operation in China. Finally, the acquisition will offer cross-selling opportunities across both companies.

Mark Thurman, CEO, Dynatect commented: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Thodacon as the two businesses are highly complementary, and we would like to welcome Thomas Vorpahl, CEO and founder of Thodacon, to the Dynatect team and to his new position as President of Dynatect Asia.  We are excited by the prospect of accelerating our international growth strategy and customer base.”

Thomas Vorpahl, CEO, Thodacon added: “I am excited to see Thodacon joining forces with Dynatect to fuel the next phase of development.  Dynatect has a broader portfolio of products including cable carrier, clutches and roll-up doors which will increase our ability to serve existing customers and reach new customers.”

Richard Relyea, Partner at 3i, US added: “Thodacon has grown rapidly since it was founded, driven by its tremendous value proposition to its customers in China and Europe. Combining it with Dynatect will materially accelerate Dynatect’s ambitions for growth in China and Asia more broadly.  It will also open up significant opportunity for the combined business in Europe and provide Dynatect the ability to better serve its existing customers’ operations across the globe.”

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Dynatect expands into China and adds further scale in Europe through the acquisition of Thodacon

3I

3i-backed Dynatect, a leading manufacturer of engineered, mission critical components for the protection of equipment and people, has acquired Thodacon, a leading provider of waywipers and other critical components for the industrial machining and automation markets. Dynatect is acquiring Thodacon from its CEO and founder, who will stay with the business, and a minority shareholder.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in China with operations in Germany, Thodacon is a leading provider of way-wipers which are industrial wipers designed into machining equipment to protect the machines from dirt, oil and dust during the metal cutting process. The company also sells covers and bellows primarily into the same markets. Thodacon has approximately 160 employees, operates out of two locations near Munich, Germany and Wuxi, near Shanghai, China, and generates revenue from a global customer base. Dynatect has been an OEM customer of Thodacon for over 10 years and servicing the full diversity of OEMs will remain a foundation of the business.

The acquisition will expand Dynatect’s customer base, with increased exposure to European and Asian markets. It will also provide Dynatect with an established manufacturing and assembly operation in China. Finally, the acquisition will offer cross-selling opportunities across both companies.

Mark Thurman, CEO, Dynatect commented: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Thodacon as the two businesses are highly complementary, and we would like to welcome Thomas Vorpahl, CEO and founder of Thodacon, to the Dynatect team and to his new position as President of Dynatect Asia.  We are excited by the prospect of accelerating our international growth strategy and customer base.”

Thomas Vorpahl, CEO, Thodacon added: “I am excited to see Thodacon joining forces with Dynatect to fuel the next phase of development.  Dynatect has a broader portfolio of products including cable carrier, clutches and roll-up doors which will increase our ability to serve existing customers and reach new customers.”

Richard Relyea, Partner at 3i, US added: “Thodacon has grown rapidly since it was founded, driven by its tremendous value proposition to its customers in China and Europe. Combining it with Dynatect will materially accelerate Dynatect’s ambitions for growth in China and Asia more broadly.  It will also open up significant opportunity for the combined business in Europe and provide Dynatect the ability to better serve its existing customers’ operations across the globe.”

 

– ENDS –

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Nordic Capital and Sampo become the largest shareholders in Norwegian Finans Holding

Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital Fund IX (“Nordic Capital”) and Sampo plc (“Sampo”) have together signed an agreement to acquire 17.47% of the shares in Norwegian Finans Holding ASA (“NOFI”) from Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA for a total value of NOK 2,218 mn (EUR 223 mn). Nordic Capital and Sampo have great sector expertise in financial services and have joined forces to realise an attractive investment opportunity and support NOFI’s further development as committed and active owners.

Established in 2007 and operating from a centralised platform in Oslo, NOFI is a fully digital bank that provides simple and competitive products to the retail customer market with a strong offering in personal loans, credit cards and savings. NOFI has more than 1.6 million customers and 84 employees based in Norway. NOFI was listed on Oslo Børs in 2016 and currently has a market capitalisation of approximately NOK 11 bn (based on the last price paid for the NOFI share on August 16, 2019).

Nordic Capital1) is one of the longest established and most active private equity investors in the Nordic region, investing in three core sectors comprising Healthcare, Technology & Payments and Financial Services. Nordic Capital has a strong track record from investments in the financial services sector, including Intrum, Nordax, Nordnet and Resurs Bank.

“Nordic Capital and Sampo have extensive experience and a strong track record in the financial services sector in the Nordic region and sees NOFI as an interesting company with strong growth potential. We look forward to becoming committed shareholders and support the company to become a leading pan-European financial institution, together with Norwegian Air Shuttle and their customer loyalty program, Norwegian Reward”, says Christian Frick, Partner and Head of Financial Services, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Completion of the acquisition will occur in two tranches, 9.97% with expected settlement on or around August 26, 2019, and the remaining 7.50%, which is subject to approval by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority, will be acquired once regulatory approval has been obtained. Nordic Capital and Sampo expect to hold around 64% and 36%, respectively, of the joint shareholding.

Press contact

Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

 

1) Nordic Capital refers to Nordic Capital Fund IX and any, or all, of its predecessor and/or successor funds or vehicles depending on the context.

 

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a proven track record. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and in addition, Industrial Goods & Services and Consumer. Key investment regions are the Nordics, Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested EUR 14 billion in over 100 investments. The most recent fund is Nordic Capital Fund IX with EUR 4.3 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. The Nordic Capital Funds and vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several advisory entities, which are based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which is referred to as the “Nordic Capital Advisors”. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

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The Carlyle Group and Safestore Form Joint Venture to Enter Dutch Self-Storage Market

Carlyle

London, UK, 19 August 2019, Safestore (FTSE250: SAFE) and global investment firm The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced the formation of a joint venture to acquire M3 Self Storage (M3).  M3 currently has six stores in prime locations in Amsterdam and Haarlem totalling c. 25,700 sqm (c. 277,000 sq ft) of lettable space.

The Dutch self-storage market is the fourth largest in Europe with 303 stores and 9.6m sq ft of lettable space. In addition to the initial acquisition, the joint venture intends to expand its platform by investing in further development and acquisition opportunities.

The Carlyle Group will have an 80% shareholding in the joint venture via funds from Carlyle Europe Realty (CER), a €540 million pan-European real estate fund.  Safestore will contribute the balance of the initial equity investment in the joint venture.  [Additional financial terms were not disclosed.

Marc-Antoine Bouyer, Managing Director, Carlyle Europe Realty, said: “This joint venture combines the extensive global and regional insights, and investing experience of the Carlyle Europe Realty team, along with the specialist industry knowledge of the Safestore team, to create a flexible and scalable platform to explore opportunities in the self-storage market. We are pleased to have a recognised industry leader as our partner.”

Frederic Vecchioli, Chief Executive Officer of Safestore said: “Since 2016, Safestore has successfully invested or committed c. £180m in 38 stores, acquisitions and new developments in its core markets of the UK and Paris.

Safestore has developed a multi-country highly scalable platform with a leading marketing and operational expertise in self-storage. The acquisition of M3 represents an excellent platform for entry into the attractive Dutch self-storage market and we expect that our joint venture with Carlyle Europe Realty will enable us to target additional selected development and acquisition opportunities.

We look forward to working with Carlyle, and to developing a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

 

*****

 

Press Enquiries:

The Carlyle Group:

Catherine Armstrong

Tel: +44 (0) 207 894 1632

Email: catherine.armstrong@carlyle.com

 

Safestore:

Instinctif Partners       

Guy Scarborough/Catherine Wickman           020 7457 2020

Safestore Holdings plc            020 8732 1500

 

About The Carlyle Group:

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global investment firm with deep industry expertise that deploys private capital across four business segments: Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets, Global Credit and Investment Solutions. With $223 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2019, Carlyle’s purpose is to invest wisely and create value on behalf of its investors, portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and invest. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,775 people in 33 offices across six continents.

Web: www.carlyle.com

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/OneCarlyle

Tweets: http://www.twitter.com/onecarlyle

Podcasts: http://www.carlyle.com/about-carlyle/market-commentary

 

About Safestore:

•           Safestore is the UK’s largest self-storage group with 146 stores at 30 April 2019, comprising 119 wholly owned stores in the UK (including 67 in London and the South East with the remainder in key metropolitan areas such as Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Bristol) and 27 wholly owned stores in the Paris region.

•           Safestore operates more self-storage sites inside the M25 and in central Paris than any competitor providing more proximity to customers in the wealthiest and densest UK and French markets.

•           Safestore was founded in the UK in 1998. It acquired the French business “Une Pièce en Plus” (“UPP”) in 2004 which was founded in 1998 by the current Safestore Group CEO Frederic Vecchioli.

•           Safestore has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007. It entered the FTSE 250 index in October 2015.

•           The Group provides storage to around 64,000 personal and business customers.

•           As at 30 April 2019, Safestore had a maximum lettable area (“MLA”) of 6.37 million sq ft (excluding the expansion pipeline stores) of which 4.65 million sq ft was occupied.

•           Safestore employs around 650 people in the UK and France.     

 

 

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Oakly Captial acquires Seven Miles

Oakley

Oakley Capital (“Oakley”) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Seven Miles GmbH (“Seven Miles”), a leading consumer technology company in the gift voucher and B2B gift card sector, partnering with its founders, Tom Schröder and Valentin Schütt.

Since it was established in Germany in 2014, Seven Miles has grown rapidly to become one of the leading physical and digital gift card networks in the DACH region, allowing consumers to purchase gift cards that can be used with more than 500 leading brands in the majority of German retailers. In 2019, Seven Miles expects to sell gift solutions in excess of €100 million. The market for multi-brand gift cards in Germany is expected to grow at over 15% in the coming years, as consumers increasingly value the convenience and flexibility that make gift cards an attractive present for many occasions.

We look forward to working with Oakley Capital. The Oakley team has a deep understanding of the sector and our business model and is a truly entrepreneurial partner who will help to accelerate the growth of our platform in the coming years.
Tom Schröder
Co-Founder, Seven Miles

Seven Miles offers a diverse range of gift card and employee incentive subscription products to both consumers and businesses. Operating under the brands ‘Wunschgutschein’, ‘WishCard’, ‘SteuersparCard’ and others, Seven Miles multi-brand gift vouchers can be redeemed at a wide variety of retailers, online, mobile, and in store. In total, its platform connects more than 500 leading brands to the majority of German retailers, covering more than 60,000 points of sale. Seven Miles also provides a range of B2B gifting solutions to corporate partners. This service, which is a fast-growing segment of the German employee incentive market, allows companies to thank, engage and reward employees with gift cards.

The investment in Seven Miles continues Oakley’s successful track record of backing founder managers in consumer technology platforms and in the DACH region. Oakley will support the current management team to create a sustainable digital platform and continue its strong growth and leadership in product innovation. This transaction further demonstrates Oakley’s ability to leverage its network, both to source opportunities and provide highly relevant expertise for its portfolio companies.

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented:
“We are delighted to be partnering with Tom and Valentin. Seven Miles exhibits many of the characteristics Oakley looks for in a deal – a founder-led, high-growth business with a leading position in its niche market, and we look forward to the opportunity we have to build and develop the digital platform together.”

Valentin Schütt, Co-Founder of Seven Miles, commented:
“We founded Seven Miles five years ago. Together with Oakley, using their expertise in the digital consumer space, we want to establish Seven Miles as the market leader in the gift voucher solution space and continue to strengthen Wunschgutschein and WishCard as leading consumer brands.”

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FPE Capital appoints two new investment team appointments as it builds team to further support UK lower mid-market investment focus

FPE Capital

FPE Capital LLP is delighted to announce the appointments of Harriet Hunt and Ben Cole as Investment Managers. These are the third and fourth new investment team hires by FPE Capital following the final close of its latest fund, FPE Fund II.

Harriet joins FPE Capital from PwC, where she was a member of the firm’s M&A Advisory team. She has passed all three levels of exams of the CFA designation. and has worked on a number of private equity led lower mid market transactions at PwC.

Ben joins FPE from Skillcapital, a global executive search and advisory firm dedicated to private equity. Ben spent almost four years as a member of the firm’s TMT practice, finding CEOs, CFOs and Chairs for mid and large cap portfolio companies, and advising investors and management teams around transaction processes. He brings a strong network of relationships with senior executives from both public and private companies across Europe and the US. His sector experience fits extremely well with FPE’s strength in technology enabled business services. Prior to joining Skillcapital he worked at the expert network, AlphaSights.

These appointments mark a further step in the development of the FPE Capital investment team as it continues its focus on the lower end of the UK mid-market. Harriet will strengthen the firm’s investment capabilities and Ben will focus on widening the firm’s investment origination activity among its differentiated network of individual investors from the business community, together with the wider intermediary community.

Recent investments made by FPE Capital from its Fund II include TNP, a provider of cloud based software solutions, and IWSR, the leading global alcohol data provider.

David Barbour, Managing Partner at FPE Capital, commented:

“We are delighted to have recruited Harriet and Ben – two impressive professionals who have been attracted by the opportunity at FPE Capital to work in the lower mid-market and to partner with ambitious high growth UK businesses. Their recruitment marks a further important step change in the FPE team on the back of our spin out and closing of FPE Fund II.”

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