The deal

Our Corporate Finance team has advised the management team and Primary Capital on the £35m MBO of Leisure Pass Group. In addition to supporting and advising the management team throughout the process, the team provided buy-side support and debt advisory services to Primary, in particular with regard to structuring an £11m senior debt package from the Royal Bank of Scotland to support the buy-out and the Company’s on-going growth strategy.

Based in London, Leisure Pass is the world’s leading provider of smart cardbased multi-attraction tourist passes and associated systems. The passes permit free entry to a large number of selected visitor attractions and are issued with a comprehensive guide book to the destination city. Leisure Pass’ city passes cover three of the largest European tourist cities – London, Paris and Berlin – enabling entry to attractions including the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Palace of Versailles, Musee du Louvre and the Berliner Dom. The Group also provides operating solutions to numerous other city passes throughout Europe and North America.

The team’s breadth and depth of capability and experience were key to the successful conclusion of this project. In addition to advising and working with the management team at Leisure Pass the team’s knowledge of private equity and debt markets meant that it was able to assist Primary in shaping and delivering the transaction and deliver a flexible and competitive debt package in a challenging economic environment.

“The team played a pivotal role at many stages of the transaction. They showed an excellent awareness of the various challenges faced by the parties while also displaying impressive analytical skills which helped us navigate many of the more complex issues. Their ability to keep sight of the ‘big picture’ while also supporting on the detail proved an excellent combination. I commend them highly and look forward to working with the team on future deals” Darran Evans, Chief Executive at Leisure Pass Group.

“In the face of a number of key challenges throughout, Ian and the team continued to drive the deal with an open and pragmatic approach. They maintained momentum in the transaction, which is critical in the current environment and this coupled with the team’s depth of understanding of the debt markets, structuring and ultimately knowing precisely what’s important to banks was key in us delivering the funding package.” Andrew Clayton, Managing Director, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Financial Sponsors, South.

“The team added value in each of their areas of expertise, and without doubt helped to make the process run smoother. In particular, given the current debt markets, their help in navigating this area proved invaluable.” Rob Foreman, Director, Primary Capital Limited.