Corporate Finance

2024: Autumn update

Welcome to the FRP Corporate Finance Autumn update. As we enter the last few weeks of 2024 and prepare for the festive season, we reflect on the last few months of activity including, the impact of the Autumn Budget, our recent deals, and team award wins and promotions.

Consistent with the rest of the market - we saw a wave of activity in September and October as deal teams worked with clients to complete live transactions, ahead of any potential tax changes in the new government’s first Budget.

In total our Corporate Finance and Debt Advisory team closed 28 transactions in the two-month period, with a total deal value of over £525 million.

Now the Budget has passed, and the dust has started to settle, Partner Chris Adlam and Director Matt Field provide an overview of what was announced and take stock of how it might shape the dealmaking landscape moving forwards.

Associate Director Amit Bagga in our debt advisory team explores the evolving role of Private Equity in Employee Ownership Trusts – with a closer look at how institutional investors are driving organic and M&A-led growth in these structures, supported by sustainable debt financing solutions.

In September FRP Restructuring Advisory and FRP Corporate Finance led the administration and sale of high street favourite – The Body Shop. We take a closer look at the deal in a special ‘deal in focus’ feature and find out how Partner and wellness industry expert, Victoria Kisseleva, helped secure the future of the iconic ethical beauty brand.

This quarter we have celebrated regional award wins in the Thames Valley, North-East, Wales and Central & East of England, and promotions in our debt advisory, deal origination and research teams. We have also welcomed new colleagues across our regional offices to support our strong pipeline of transactions going into 2025.

Additionally, in October FRP announced the acquisition of Globalview Advisors (London), as part of the continued investment in our Financial Advisory offering. This doubles the size of our valuations team to 16 people and broadens the range of services available to FRP Corporate Finance’s clients.

M&A update

Chris Adlam and Matt Field review the latest developments in the M&A market

For the M&A market, the last quarter was dominated by speculation around the new government’s first Budget.

While it didn’t drive a surge in new deals, we saw a flurry of activity in September and October as shareholders and management teams rushed to get existing plans that were already underway over the line ahead of any potential new tax measures, particularly a mooted rise in Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Now the Budget has passed, and the dust has started to settle, it means there is time to reflect on what was announced and take stock of how it might shape the dealmaking landscape moving forwards.

Overall, the outlook is very positive. Despite some tax increases, these were smaller than some people feared and are unlikely to significantly impact deal volumes. We anticipate a steady deal flow for the months ahead.

Chris Adlam, Partner- Corporate Finance

Deal in Focus - The Body Shop

FRP Restructuring Advisory and FRP Corporate Finance lead administration and sale of high street favourite.

FRP have secured the future of the iconic high street ethical beauty brand The Body Shop, which has been acquired out of administration by the specialist investment fund Auréa, led by a serial industry entrepreneur, Mike Jatania and investor Paul Raphaël.

The FRP restructuring team, led by partners Geoff Rowley, Alastair Massey and Tony Wright, and Director Steve Baluchi were appointed as joint administrators in February 2024.

We continued to successfully trade the business in administration while managing the sale process, which also included certain of The Body Shop’s overseas subsidiaries.

Our restructuring team then worked closely with our corporate finance team, led by beauty and wellness industry expert Victoria Kisseleva and her colleagues Charlie Hallaran and Madhavi Morjaria, to find a new home for The Body Shop.

Victoria Kisseleva at FRP London, 6th September 2023

Victoria Kisseleva, Partner - Corporate Finance

The evolving role of Private Equity in Employee Ownership Trusts

Amit Bagga explores how institutional investors are playing an increasingly important role in the evolution of employee-owned companies.

In recent years, the concept of employee ownership trusts (EOTs) has gained significant traction as a tax-efficient exit strategy for business owners in the UK. As the landscape of business ownership and succession planning continues to evolve, EOTs have emerged as an increasingly attractive option, offering a range of benefits for both business owners and their employees.

The intersection of private equity investment, EOTs and other employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) is becoming an increasingly prominent trend, and institutional investors are recognising the opportunity to invest in EOT owned companies to realise a return for investors, offering access to growth capital which would not otherwise have been available, while preserving the core principle of employee ownership.