The deal

Our Corporate Finance team has advised the Directors of Clarendon Business Centres (Clarendon) on the acquisition of Mortimer Facilities Management (trading as Reflex) and the associated debt raise to fund the purchase.

The team acted as lead adviser and assisted Clarendon with the initial negotiations, deal structure and debt fund raising as well as project managing the transaction through to completion. Clarendon were successful in purchasing the business despite significant interest from other trade buyers, latterly selecting HSBC to provide the necessary acquisition debt after a competitive fund raising process.

Founded by the Cooper family in 1998, Clarendon operates 12 serviced offices across the South of England and London. Voted 2012 and 2014 Business Centre of the Year by the Business Centre Association, Clarendon offers clients serviced offices, virtual offices and meeting room hire. The company has seen consistent organic growth over the past 16 years, and in particular in the past 18 months following new London office openings.

Reflex operates 16 serviced offices in central London, typically in period properties. The acquisition enables Clarendon to rapidly expand its footprint of offices across London and also provides an alternative client offering as Reflex’s properties are smaller, managed properties without the added reception and shared office facilities which Clarendon provides in its current properties.

“As a company we continue to recognise the ongoing flexible property requirement of today’s businesses. Reflex allows us to offer another alternative to the market, helping to maintain low company overheads for our clients whilst still keeping the service element at the forefront of our product. The team were instrumental in our negotiations and excelled in their support in all aspects of the deal. Their expertise and depth of knowledge on debt financing, company structure and accountancy helped Clarendon secure excellent terms and a smooth transaction. Communication through all of the teams’ experts was seamless, reliable and consistent. The immediate post deal support has assured us that we chose the perfect team to guide us through our first acquisition.” Julian Cooper, Managing Director of Clarendon.