OUR SERVICE:

• Partner-led team with significant track record in all types of M&A
• Signifcant experience across sectors but particularly known for work in the property and leisure sectors
• Experienced advising, and selling to, private equity houses
• Specialists in the SME market
• Full service support with tax, employment and banking experts an integral part of the team

RECENT EXPERIENCE ADVISING:

• the owners and managers of XLN Telecom Limited, one of Britain’s fastest growing alternative Telecom Service Providers focusing on the Small Business sector, on their sale, by way of an MBO and backing from Zeus Private Equity. This highly successful business offers the lowest phone rates in the UK to small businesses and has been a National Business Awards Finalist for three consecutive years: 2004, 2005 and 2006. In 2007, XLN Telecom was ranked 29th on the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 survey of the 100 fastest growing technology companies in the UK
• on the sale of UK-based Essential Lighting Group Limited to Australian publicly listed Staging Connections Group
• The Travel Group Company Holdings Limited on the sale of his majority shareholding to BCD Travel UK Limited (a subsidiary of World Travel International B.V)
• the Conran team on their MBO of Conran Restaurant Holdings and the sale of the Great Eastern Hotel. Des Gunewardena, Chief Executive, Conran Holdings said: “FSI did a first class job for us”
• Retirement Villages Group, the UK’s leading specialists in retirement living, on the acquisition of the Roseland Parc Development in Tregony, near Truro, Cornwall. The purchase involved the acquisition of an existing care business and an ongoing retirement village development project which will together form the enhanced Roseland Parc Development. The £20 million development, once completed, will be the premier retirement village complex on the South West Coast
• Tragus Holdings - FSI have just advised on the property aspects of the £267 million sale of the Café Rouge, Bella Italia and Ortega restaurants to Blackstone Private Equity. The sale encompassed the entire portfolio consisting of some 180+ properties
• Aylesford Metal Company on the purchase of a recycling business. Owned by Shaun Elliott, Aylesford specialise in recycling metal. FSI were brought in at short notice and turned the deal around within 36 hours
• LK Records Limited in its acquisition of the majority shareholding of the record company holding the contract for the band The Killers
• a private UK investment house and mezzanine funder on the provision of mezzanine funding to and taking warrants over shares in a US company providing products to the hotel sector. This project involved FSI working in conjunction with the client’s US attorneys
• the fastest growing UK business to business telecoms re-seller on an equity investment by a US hedge fund, again involved negotiating directly with the hedge fund’s US attorneys