Previous Page
UK
Deal Maker of the Year Awards 2013 WINNER - DAVID MCCLELLAND
DEAL: WestBridge backs £6m MBO of Anglia Business Solutions
NAME: David McClelland COMPANY: Carlton Strategy Advisors Limited POSITION: DIRECTOR TEL: +44 (0) 208 947 5108 EMAIL: info@carlton-advisors.co.uk
BIO
David McClelland, director of Carlton Strategy Advisors, has specialised in commercial diligence and business strategy consulting for nearly 15 years, setting up CSA in 2009 and with clients across the private equity and corporate bank lending sectors.
In an extensive and earlier career, he held senior consulting roles in two UK top-10 transaction services accountancy firms in addition to his time spent in international corporate management.
DEAL OVERVIEW Q
Please summarise the transaction
CSA supports WestBridge Capital and Co- operative Corporate Banking on the MBO of Anglia Business Solutions
Carlton Strategy Advisors has successfully supported WestBridge Capital and The Co-operative Bank by providing full-scope commercial due diligence in connection with the management buyout of Anglia Business Solutions Ltd, a specialist independent vendor and value added reseller of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software supplied to a core addressable market within the fresh food industry.
What was your role within the transaction
CSA’s commercial due diligence examined the Anglia business plan, prepared by company management in support of the buyout. A key feature of the plan was the business’s ability to
analysis in addition to customer and lost- customer referencing. It aimed to provide an overview of the main sources of industry competition, assessing Anglia as a business which, according to CSA’s interpretation, could develop its LINKFresh model and successfully grow sales over the next five years.
Q with
further develop its position in UK fresh produce as a channel partner of Microsoft Dynamics and also seek market extension in parallel industry verticals, such as within meat and eggs, for example - in both the UK and, increasingly, North America.
Q difficulties presented What were the challenges or
The focus of the diligence was therefore an assessment of such matters as the perceived willingness of food industry market participants to adopt an ERP supply chain solution - and the twofold level of demand made up of fresh sales to new clients and repeat business in the form of consultancy, maintenance and product upgrades to existing clients.
How were the challenges or difficulties overcome
The scope of the CDD undertaken by CSA covered extensive market and competitor
The WestBridge transaction involving Anglia Business Solutions is the fourth or fifth occasion that the private equity investor has engaged the services of Carlton
What other types of clients or transactions have you been involved
Strategy Advisors.
Previously, CSA has supported WestBridge in connection with its investment in the aircraft components engineering and medical products sectors, for example.
Q
What are your thoughts and predictions for 2014 and beyond
It is difficult to manage business value-add in a recovering market without linking company competence to revised and understood yardsticks within the competitive marketplace. Catching the next ‘boom’ in 2014 and beyond will require good due diligence and judgment of the opportunity. However, new growth drivers will emerge in markets which if mapped will provide business owners and their backers with fresh opportunities to go forward and compete successfully.