Taylor Wessing advises management of Gissings Advisory Services on £18m MBO
Taylor Wessing in London has acted for the management on an £18 million MBO of Gissings Advisory Services ("GAS").
The senior team - Andy Kilbey, Jamie Barnes, Iain Laws and David Brooks - backed by UK mid-market private equity house Dunedin Capital Partners, has acquired all the shares in GASL from owners Sean Breslin and Andrew Dawson.
GAS is the UK's fifth largest corporate risk distributor, providing consultancy advice on flexible benefits, private medical insurance, life assurance, permanent health insurance, occupational health and employee wellness to a number of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 businesses. Demand for flexible employee benefits systems is growing rapidly, with recent survey evidence revealing that a significant proportion of UK SMEs are considering the adoption of flexible benefits in the near future.
The Taylor Wessing team advising GAS was led by corporate partner Tom Cartwright, and included corporate associates Adela Solomon and Andrew Fleming.
Dunedin Capital Partners was advised by Partner Andrew Carpenter at Addleshaw Goddard.
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For more information please contact Sarah le Cheminant at Taylor Wessing:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7300 4930
Email: s.lecheminant@taylorwessing.com
Taylor Wessing LLP is a leading law firm providing legal support for commercial organisations doing business in Europe. Based in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK, Taylor Wessing provides the full range of legal services to major corporations and growing enterprises. Taylor Wessing boasts a strong reputation in the corporate, finance and real estate sectors alongside in-depth experience across the full range of legal services including intellectual property and technology, tax, litigation & dispute resolution, employment & pensions and private client.
About GAS
GAS is the UK's fifth largest corporate risk distributor, providing consultancy advice on flexible benefits, private medical insurance, life assurance, permanent health insurance, occupational health and employee wellness to a number of FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 businesses.
GAS employs 57 people and is headquartered at Finsbury Circus in London. It provides a range of employee benefits services to corporates, enhancing staff retention and wellbeing. In terms of market share, GAS is the fifth largest UK corporate risk distributor and is in the top five UK corporate healthcare intermediaries with a blue chip client base.
GAS has 400 clients, ranging from SMEs to major corporates, including eight FTSE 100 clients and 17 FTSE 250 clients. Its client base covers a range of industries and geographies, with many in London and the South East.
About Dunedin
Dunedin provides equity finance for management buyouts and management buyins with a transaction size of £10 million - £75 million. It is an independent private equity house, owned by the directors and staff, operating throughout the UK from offices in Edinburgh and London.
Dunedin was voted the 2007 BVCA & Real Deals “Private Equity House of the Year” and the 2006 Unquote “Small Buyout House of the Year”.
In 2006, it raised a new £250 million buyout fund which was significantly oversubscribed. It also manages the quoted private equity investment trust, Dunedin Enterprise Investment Trust PLC.
Dunedin invests in established companies in the following sectors: construction and building materials, consumer products and services, financial services, healthcare, leisure, specialist manufacturing and support services.
During the past 18 months, Dunedin made new investments in Capula, etc.venues, WFEL and Fernau Avionics and successfully realised investments in Letts Filofax, Caledonian Building Systems, Celtic Inns, Home & Legacy, Travel & General Insurance, Davenham, Portman Travel, Zenith Vehicle Contracts and Buildspan.
The new fund gives Dunedin the firepower to invest up to £50 million of equity in a deal allowing it to focus on buyouts of up to £75 million enterprise value and then to pursue buy and build and roll-out opportunities.