Background

Mr Fothergill’s Seeds is an award-winning international independent horticulture supplier with a focus on hobby seeds and supplementary products. The company has headquarters in Newmarket as well as offices in Australia and New Zealand, and exports to 20 countries globally. Having advised Mr Fothergill’s board and shareholders in recent years to aid the business’ strategic development, FRP’s Corporate Finance team was engaged to act as lead advisers on an equity led management buyout (MBO) of the company.

Action

Our Corporate Finance team ran a competitive process to source the right investment partner to fund a private equity backed buy-out of the founding shareholders. The team negotiated and managed the deal from the start to a successful completion, achieving a strong valuation and attractive equity structure for both shareholders and management.

Outcome

The FRP team successfully advised on the £100 million+ buyout of the founding shareholders, supported by Harwood Private Capital with additional debt funding from OakNorth Bank. The buyout was led by the Managing Director Dave Carey, with the support of a high-quality, experienced and ambitious management team, which enabled a full exit of founding shareholders and equity incentivisation for the senior management team going forwards. Additional development and acquisition capital was also secured, to support a detailed business plan for future growth.