Lonsdale Capital Partners Makes First Investment – Backing The Management Team Of Emcas
Media Release
LONSDALE CAPITAL PARTNERS MAKES FIRST INVESTMENT – BACKING THE MANAGEMENT TEAM OF EMCAS
Lonsdale Capital Partners, the private equity firm founded by Alan Dargan, Ross Finegan and David Gasparro, has announced its acquisition of a majority stake in EMCAS Ltd, one of the leading UK financial claims management companies.
In its first deal since it launched at the beginning of 2010, Lonsdale will support the EMCAS management team led by Craig Bernhardt (CEO) and James Scarth (CFO). Investors in the deal include Souter Investments. In addition, Lonsdale announced the appointment of a new EMCAS Non-Executive Chairman, David White, who was until recently CEO of The Children’s Mutual. The appointment takes place with immediate effect.
Ross Finegan, Partner, Lonsdale, commented: ‘EMCAS is a market leader in financial claims management. We were attracted to partnering with them for three reasons: this is a strongly growing sector, they are focused on redress on behalf of the consumer and the capability of the management team, who show a great determination to drive their business forward. We look forward to working closely with them as they build their team and further develop their strategy.’
Craig Bernhardt, CEO, EMCAS, added: ‘The financial claims management sector is growing. Conservative estimates are that 15 million Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) policies alone have been miss-sold, and the fact that we now deal with over 6,000 new enquiries every month shows a growing unease in the way both these and a number of other investment products have been sold.
We look forward to a long partnership with Lonsdale which enables us to develop both our existing business as well as debt management solutions and other new services.’
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About Lonsdale Capital Partners
Lonsdale Capital Partners is a private equity firm operating exclusively at the smaller end of the private equity market (£10m to £50m enterprise value) in the UK and Northern Europe across a wide variety of sectors. Launched at the beginning of 2010 by experienced financial industry figures David Gasparro (previously Head of Distribution, Threadneedle), Ross Finegan (JP Morgan Partners), and Alan Dargan (founder, Lansdowne Capital), they work in close partnership with management teams to grow their franchises, providing the finance and expertise to help businesses reach their full potential.
About EMCAS
EMC Advisory Services Ltd (trading as EMCAS) is a leading financial claims management company, acting on behalf of UK consumers who have been miss-sold financial services products. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Paignton where it employs around 155 staff. The company has successfully won over £180 million in compensation on behalf of over 80,000 clients, pursuing the miss-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI), endowments, ill-advised lending and investments and credit card charges. The company also launched its own in-house debt management solutions department during the latter part of 2010.
About Souter Investments
Souter Investments is the private investment vehicle of Brian Souter and is totally separate from Stagecoach Group of which he is founder and CEO. Souter Investments has a broad portfolio and has participated in recent transactions including Sunseeker, the luxury yacht manufacturer, and the buy-out of eSure, the insurance provider, from Lloyds Banking Group.
19th Aug 2010
Real Deals News Article
Former Threadneedle Asset Management executive David Gasparro has launched Lonsdale Capital Partners alongside Ross Finnegan of JP Morgan and Alan Dargas, formally of Warburg Pincus.
The three forged their relationship through their children, who all attend the same school. Indeed, the firm is named after the street on which the school is located.
Dargas and Finnegan have already been investing together for two and a half years, raising funds on a deal-by-deal basis from high net-worth individuals. One notable investment was OEG Offshore, a supplier of specialist engineering cabins and cargo-carrying units to the offshore oil and gas industry.
Of course, Lonsdale is launching at a particularly difficult time, but by building up a joint track record, the firm has overcome the first hurdle.
“Our investment over recent years has given us a strong foundation from which to build,” Finnegan said. “The launch of Lonsdale allows us to formalise our previous endeavours.”
Indeed, Finnegan is determined to push forward in what he believes is an ideal time to invest.
“The lower end of the mid-market, where we plan to operate, is also a lot less crowded,” he added.
The company will continue to be funded on a deal-by-deal basis in the short term, while the trio explore options for raising a fund.
Meanwhile, according to Finnegan, Lonsdale will look to grow, however there is no time scale for this yet and expansion will be dependant on the company’s success.
There are two deals currently under discussion; one is in the UK, the other in Germany.
Finnegan explained that the transactions were originated through a personal contact and broker well known to them. Both companies are mature with generative cash flows and strong, ambitious management teams.
Indeed, despite wider macro-economic misery and pressures on private equity, Finnegan is optimistic about the current market conditions.
“The debt markets are improving but they are still conservative,” he said. “There is little liquidity but now the general election is over and there is a stable government, there will be a firmer platform for investors. I believe the market is growing, not rapidly perhaps, but sprouting at least.”
Source - http://www.realdeals.eu.com
09th Aug 2010
E-Financial News Article
A former Threadneedle executive and two ex-bankers have launched their own private equity business, which they have named after the road where their children go to school.
Lonsdale Capital Partners has been set up by David Gasparro, formerly head of distribution at UK fund manager Threadneedle; Ross Finegan, formerly of JP Morgan Partners, the private equity division of the US bank; and Alan Dargan, an ex-investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS, and founder of corporate finance advisory firm Lansdowne Capital.
The firm aims to buy and build companies with an enterprise value of between £10m (€12m) and £50m, according to Finegan. He said: “We are looking for mature businesses with good cashflow that have reached the limit of their capability and need to expand management to grow further. It’s about working with the existing management and adding value. We are in advanced discussions on two deals.”
Gasparro left Threadneedle in January last year as the fund manager began a review of its distribution function. At the time, when the stock markets had been plummeting for the previous four months, asset management companies were focusing on cutting costs and staff. Eighteen months earlier, he had been an internal candidate for the post of chief executive to succeed Simon Davies. The job went to Crispin Henderson.
The two bankers had worked together before. They came to know Gasparro through their children – Dargan has four boys, Finegan four girls and Gasparro three girls – who all attend the same school, some of them in the same year. Finegan said: “The name of the company comes from the road where the school is.”
According to Lonsdale Capital Partners’ website, in previous deals, the founders “have helped build the strategy, developed new business lines, globalised businesses, rebranded, performed add-on acquisitions, improved operations and helped build out the management team. This has resulted in significant growth in earnings”.
The company’s website says its approach is “about being hands-on with the companies we invest in and seeing ourselves as partners”.
According to the website, the partners have operated at management committee and board level in different businesses.
Before setting up Lonsdale, Dargan and Finegan did a deal together involving OEG Offshore, an Aberdeen company that supplies specialist engineering cabins and cargo-carrying units to the offshore oil and gas industry.
Finegan said: “When we got involved, it was an Aberdeen company with a US agency. Now it is an Aberdeen company with a US subsidiary, a Singapore subsidiary, a depot in Western Australia and sales to West Africa.”
OEG Offshore’s pre-tax profit rose from £290,000 over the 18 months to March 2008 to £520,000 over the 16 months to July 2009, according to the company’s accounts, filed at Companies House.
Source - http://www.efinancialnews.com/
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