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OF THE YEAR (OVER £25m) AWARD


DEAL


SPONSORED BY THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE WINNER Micheldever Tyre Services


Left: The Micheldever deal winning team with David Murray (right) of sponsor The Business Magazine Above: Paul Fox of Micheldever


The final award of the night was Deal of the Year (over £25m) and five prestigious deals, all of which had figured large in the evening’s nominations, were in with a chance of winning.


Already called a “stand-out” deal, the £60m MBO of the Davies Group, a Reading-based insurance claims management solutions specialist, was one of the finalists. The MBO was backed by Electra Partners, which bought the company from LDC, and the funding bank was HSBC. Working as advisers were KPMG and Ernst & Young; while Shoosmiths, Osborne Clarke, Clifford Chance and DLA Piper provided legal services. Due diligence was by Ernst & Young and Deloitte.


The secondary buyout of Autologic, an Oxford- based manufacturer of high level car diagnostic equipment, was completed in a £46m deal with investment funding from ISIS Equity Partners, already named Venture Capital Firm of the Year. The funding bank was HSBC, with advisers WK Corporate Finance and Catalyst Corporate Finance. Legal advice was provided by PDT Solicitors, Shoosmiths and Olswang, with due diligence by KPMG, Shoosmiths, PwC and Ricado Strategic Consulting.


The largest of the shortlisted deals, worth £230m, involved Chemring Group, the defence firm based at Fareham. Funding was provided by Barclays, RBS, Commerzbank, Mediobanca,


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2012


and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, with a four-year syndicated revolving credit facility to assist growth. The advisers were Investec and Bond Pearce provided legal support.


Wireless Logic, a £35m MBO of the Marlow- based company from Phones International, had already received several mentions. Backed by ECI Partners, it had funding from Clydesdale bank, and legal support from Osborne Clarke and PwC, who also provided due diligence.


A high-value refinancing deal for Winchester- based Micheldever Tyre Services – funded by RBS, HSBC, Santander and GE Capital – enabled the company to continue its expansion strategy, which in 2011 included the acquisition of Solent-based Tyreland. Thomas Eggar worked closely with a syndicate of lenders to help secure the refinancing deal and advise on its terms.


Micheldever, founded in 1972, currently employs some 1,100 staff and in 2011 had sales of £279.9m. Deal advisers were BCMS Corporate for Tyreland, with Thomas Eggar, Kiteleys and DLA Piper providing legal services across the deal and due diligence from RSM Tenon, Thomas Eggar and Armstrong Transaction Services.


One nomination said: “The deal was no mean feat considering current market conditions, where deals like this are not happening at the


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moment.” It was particularly time pressured as the refinancing and acquisition both needed to be completed on the same day, so not to jeopardise the Tyreland acquisition.


Sponsored once more by The Business Magazine, it was David Murray who took to the stage to encourage the audience to press their keypads one last time, revealing that the winner was the Micheldever deal.


Commenting on the award Richard Sawney, group financial director, Micheldever Tyres, said: “We are delighted to have won the award for the Deal of the Year in the mid-market category; it is a testament to the work of our advisers: Thomas Eggar, RSM Tenon and KPMG and the banks that worked very closely with us in support of the business, RBS, HSBC, Santander and GE Capital.


“The award comes as great recognition for the work that went into our refinancing strategy and the subsequent work on our acquisition programme. Micheldever is now in a strong position to continue our growth through our acquisition strategy. We would like to thank all those who voted for us on the evening.”


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