The deal

Our Corporate Finance team has successfully advised Sovereign Capital on the acquisition of Premier Park, a leading provider of car park management solutions. Sovereign will work with the management team to grow the business both organically and through strategic acquisition to meet the increasing demand for its services.

Based in Exeter, Devon, Premier Park installs and manages Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras for its UK SME and corporate customers’ car parks to monitor usage, prevent abuse and ensure legitimate users have parking access. Other parking services include managing payments and patrol services. The business currently operates over 840 sites throughout the UK.

Sovereign is backing founders Steve Garratt and Steve Pettit who are joined by the newly appointed Group CEO, Paul Dawson. Paul spent the last c.15 years working at Capita plc where he held various senior management roles including CEO of ParkingEye. Andy Parker, the highly experienced former Group CEO of Capita plc joins the business as non-executive Chairman. Mark Farlow, James Mines and Sanj Benawra from our team provided buy-side lead advisery support throughout the acquisition leading to a successful completion.

Jeremy Morgan, Partner, Sovereign Capital Partners commented, “We are delighted to be backing such a strong management team in this specialist market. Premier Park has established itself as a first class operator and enjoys a very loyal client base due the breadth and quality of bespoke services delivered. We look forward to working with the team to develop and grow the business organically and through carefully selected acquisitions.”

Paul Dawson, CEO, Premier Park said, “I’m delighted to join Premier Park at this exciting time. This is an evolving market influenced by an increasing demand for spaces and the evolution of electric vehicles – consumers are constantly looking for an improved experience and ease of access. We are well placed to develop the business by broadening our service proposition and continuing to deliver the efficiency and customer satisfaction this business is recognised for.”

“The experienced team provided comprehensive buy-side support, enabling us to fully concentrate on the key issues. We were impressed with their highly responsive and quality service which helped ensure the successful completion of this transaction.” Jeremy Morgan, Partner, Sovereign Capital Partners.

“We enjoyed working with the team, who played a valuable role in getting the deal completed. They diligently supported us on the transaction, and we look forward to working with them in the future.” Jonathan Thorne, Investment Director, Sovereign Capital partners

“We are delighted to have supported Sovereign and the management team with this highly strategic transaction in the car park management sector. Premier represents a solid platform that will provide strong organic growth potential and the opportunity to pursue a buy and build strategy. We look forward to supporting both Sovereign and the management team in delivering their future strategy.” Mark Farlow.