Background

Evolutions is a prominent player in the post-production industry, with the UK’s major television broadcasters such as the BBC, Channel 4, Amazon and ITV among its customers. Recent projects have included the Channel 4 dating series ‘First Dates’ for Twenty Twenty, the nature programme ‘Countryfile’ for BBC Studios, and documentary series ‘24 Hours in Police Custody’ for The Garden Productions on Channel 4. However, a restructuring of the company was essential to enable the business to survive, given its high fixed-cost overheads and liabilities to creditors.

Action

FRP was initially engaged as advisers to the business, with a view to being appointed as Joint Administrator after an accelerated sales process to find the right buyer for a pre-packaged sale in administration. Following the marketing process, our team identified specialist SME fund Enact as the preferred buyer.

Outcome

The sale saw the fund acquire the business and assets of Evolutions with all staff contracts transferred, saving more than 100 jobs. Further support was also provided by our Debt Advisory team, which secured an invoice discounting facility for the business.