Finance Monthly Deal Maker Awards 2016 Edition

FINANCE MONTHLY DEAL MAKER AWARDS 2016 www.finance-monthly.com 59 sources for those tasked with strategic purchases. Our networking and marketing is discreet, confidential and highly focussed. In many cases, we already know the people who will be interested in buying your business and will pay a premium for it. MAXIMISING VALUE Your Company is only worth what someone will pay for it.......... Which is why finding the right kind of buyer is so important, but before we get to that stage, we make a point of ‘risk assessing’ your Company prior to taking it to market. Just like selling a house or a car, prospective acquirers will be looking for ways to reduce the value of your Company before they commit to buy. We will look at your business through the eyes of a potential purchaser to make sure you are in the strongest possible negotiating position. Amongst the many factors we will consider are: tangible and intangible assets, past and future potential value of the Company, profit stability, current systems and procedures, key relationships, legal and financial due diligence. We know from experience, if these matters are not considered prior to sale then the maximum value is unlikely to be achieved. Once we are satisfied you are in a strong position to sell, we can then look for ‘best fit’ buyers, third parties for whom the possibility of acquiring your Company dovetails with their corporate objectives. In short, we rarely take an opportunity to market with a fixed price tag. A FRESH APPROACH TO COMPANY SALES La Salle focuses exclusively on working with businesses deals and transactions up to £100m. Our Management team have collectively advised companies on all aspects of selling involving 1000’s of deals across all industry sectors. With the assurance of many successfully completed deals, through results and proven methodology we are able to identify and focus on the key areas that will ensure we achieve maximum value for your Company. From our considerable experience we are able to identify, understand and appreciate the key elements within your business that will impact positively on value and ensure that information is presented in the best positive way to not only a willing and able purchaser but one to whom your business will have most value. At La Salle we have a pro-active culture which is tailored to your specific industry, whether you are a service company, manufacturer, wholesaler or re-seller our experience and principles will ensure the best result for you. Please summarise the transaction The Sash-Fitrite group, based in Barnsley, specialise in uPVC Windows and Fencing & Decking. The Company was established back in 1965 by two shareholders (Mr Ron Bean & Mr Terry Morrell). Both shareholders were keen to exit the company, along with Terry Morrell’s son, Stephen, who assumed the position of Managing Director within the group. As the shareholders wished to exit after a small handover period, this meant La Salle had to find an acquirer who had the resources to run the company on a day to day basis. We were looking for a Management Buy In. What was our role in the transaction? Once we took instruction from our clients, having produced the relevant documentation, our initial role was to findanacquirer. La Salle’s research team identified that the two former senior executives of double glazing giant Safestyle, including one of its founders, were keen to return to the industry. We knew they were supported financially so it was the ideal fit. Led by Matt Dillon, he initially met with advisors of John Ross to discuss the opportunity, before organising a formal meeting with the shareholders, John and his advisors. After several meetings, further information gathered, mainly financial, the initial bid was placed, which was unacceptable. Following further talks, La Salle negotiated an additional £3.5million for our clients after more meetings. The final offer was a fantastic deal for our clients which they duly admitted upon acceptance. What were the challenges and how were they overcome? As happens with many of these transactions, once a price is agreed, there is a tendency to think that the deal is ‘done’. Far from it. We had issues in due diligence with a plot of land that was in the process of being purchased with the current shareholders. Who would continue with this process? What if the deal collapsed? The buyer did not wish to own a plot of land next to a company he almost bought. The final days and hours of the transaction were critical. The funding was coming from America and it was on the eve of the dreaded Brexit vote. The noises were from America that if Britain were to leave then the funders may not provide the funding. Potentially it was ‘deal off scenario’. There were still issues to resolve with indemnities and it was extremely tight. All parties pulled together, with brilliant help from Squire Patton Boggs on the buyer’s side, the deal was completed at 3am. Brexit voting opened that morning. TRANSACTION SUMMARY Q Q Q CONTACT La Salle Corporate, Discovery House, Crossley Road, Stockport, SK4 5BH Email: matt.dillon@lasallecorporate.com Tel: 0161 975 1521 / 07814 264 374