Renatus’ Weekly M&A Newsletter – 28/11/2021
November 28, 2021Renatus’ Weekly M&A Newsletter – 12/12/2021
December 13, 2021
Renatus Weekly M&A & Company Performance Private Equity Newsletter 05/12/2021
Dear Reader,
Please find below this week’s newsletter covering the latest M&A, company performance, fundraisings and executive moves.
M&A ACTIVITY
O’Brien Fine Foods acquires Bearfields of London
Deal Details: O’Brien Fine Foods, a specialist producer of premium cooked meats, has acquired a London-based producer of gammon and ham products, Bearfields. The deal consideration was not disclosed.
O’Brien Fine Foods is run by John O’Brien and its brands include Brady Family Ham, Green Farm, and Homebird. The business is based in Naas and is owned wholly by the O’Brien family. O’Brien Fine Foods employs over 500 people and supplies various supermarkets throughout Ireland including LIDL, Dunnes Stores, Musgraves, and Tesco.
Bearfields of London was founded in 1907 by Frederick Bearfield. The business primarily supplies supermarkets, restaurant brands, contract caterers, hotels, and pub groups. The business employs over 100 people.
In its financial year to December 2020, Bearfields Limited reported revenue of c. £22.4m which converted to an EBITDA of c. £2.0m. O’Brien Fine Foods do not disclose its financials.
Advisers: A Wallace Corporate Counsel LLP team of Gar Smyth, Sean Hiney, Sean Wallace, Patrick O’Shea, Ronan McNabb and John McGuckian advised O’Brien Fine Foods.
Renatus Comment: This is O’Brien’s second acquisition since 2018 when it acquired Green Farm and its first move into the UK market.
From the original MBO of the business by Bill O’Brien, to the handover to his son, to local M&A, and now to international expansion, the family seem to have made all the right moves to develop the business and not sit still.
Source: O’Brien Fine Foods LinkedIn
Planet acquires Proximus
Deal Details: Galway-based global integrated payments business, Planet, has acquired Paris-headquartered unified commerce solution platform provider, Proximus. The deal consideration was not disclosed.
Planet was founded in 1985 and began life trading as Cashback Ltd, a business that facilitated VAT refunds for international visitors in Ireland. The business has gradually grown into a full global integrated payments provider which employs over 1,100 employees in locations throughout Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, North and South America.
Proximus was founded by current CEO, Philip Bianchi in 2013. Proximus provides payment solutions to retailers targeting both e-commerce operators and physical stores. The business operates from locations throughout Europe with a North American base in Montreal, Canada.
Advisers: None mentioned
Renatus Comment: In June of this year, Advent International acquired a stake in Planet which reportedly valued the business at €1.8bn. At that time, the group announced that it wanted to further develop Planet’s position as a global leader in integrated payments.
This acquisition of Proximus this week appears to form part of that strategy and follows previous acquisitions including 3C Payment in 2020, EML Payments in 2019, as well as Planet Payments and GB Tax-Free in 2017.
Patrick Waldron has been Planet’s CEO since 2012, leading the business through this significant growth phase.
Source: Planet Press Release
PREM Group is acquired by Fortress
Deal Details: Fortress Investment Group LLC (“Fortress”), has acquired a majority stake in PREM Group through an off-market acquisition of interests held by non-executive shareholders.
PREM Group, founded in Dublin in 1996, is an international hotel and hospitality management company operating multiple businesses across Europe. PREM Group operates a portfolio of 38 hotels and serviced apartment properties throughout Ireland, the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Arago Investments Limited is the holding company of PREM Group. In its financial year to December 2020, it reported revenue of c. €35.9m which was down from c. €67.4m in 2019, likely as a result of the impacts of Covid on the hospitality sector.
Founded in 1998, Fortress manages approximately $53.9bn of assets on behalf of approximately 1,800 institutional clients and private investors worldwide.
Advisers: Deloitte M&A Financial Advisory team along with Beauchamps provided lead advisory services to the shareholders of PREM Group. The Beauchamps team consisted of Shaun O’Shea, Aidan Marsh and Damian Maloney
Renatus Comment: It appears this deal went through before the Omicron variant scared the travel and hospitality world again.
Various leisure stocks have been hit hard over the past month as a result of the emergence of Omicron. For example, MGM Resorts International’s share price moved from $50.37 on November 5th to $40.17 at Friday’s close of trading. UK-based IGH Hotels and Resorts, which is the parent of the Crowne Plaza and the Intercontinental brands, among others, has seen its share price decrease by 14.88% since November 5th.
Source: PREM Group
Orpea Group Ireland acquires two Irish nursing homes
Deal Details: Orpea, a leading provider of nursing home care in Ireland and across Europe, has added Athlunkard Nursing Home (Co. Clare) and Kilbrew Recuperation & Nursing Care (Co. Meath) to the group. The deal consideration was not disclosed.
Athlunkard is a purpose-built Nursing Home on the outskirts of Limerick City with 51 single rooms.
Kilbrew Recuperation and Nursing Care is a 74 bed Nursing Care and Retirement Complex in County Meath.
Advisers:
Orpea:
Matheson (George Brady, Robert Barrett and Criona Gannon) provided legals.
Crowe provided financial (Naoise Cosgrove & Colm Sheehan),tax (Cormac Doyle) due diligence and transaction support services.
Athlunkard shareholders received legal advice from Holmes.
Renatus Comment: Nursing homes and insurance brokers are undoubtedly the most prolific targets for M&A activity.
In Ireland, Orpea Group is often at the forefront of this activity, establishing themselves as one of the biggest care home operators in Ireland. The Group has already completed two large acquisitions this year, namely the FirstCare collection in May and Brindley in April. Orpea operates more than 1,000 nursing home facilities in 22 countries and had revenue of €3.9bn last year.
Source: LinkedIn
Ekco acquires ITON
Deal Details: Ekco, a Dublin-based provider of cloud and security solutions, has acquired ITON in the Netherlands. The deal consideration was not disclosed.
Ekco, previously InternetCorp, was founded in 2015 by tech entrepreneurs Eoin Blacklock and Jonathon Crowe. The business focuses on cloud solutions that drive productivity and scalability while ensuring data security.
The business has locations throughout Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands and will employ c.336 people post-acquisition. Ekco provides services to a range of blue-chip clients and currently serves over 2,500 enterprise customers worldwide. The business reported turnover of c. €20m in 2020.
ITON is a Veenendaal-based tech business that specialises in the public cloud. The business has developed services such as automation, dashboarding, and enterprise-grade security services.
Advisers: Ekco’s internal M&A team.
Renatus Comment: Around the time Ekco rebranded from Internet Corp, the business raised €8.4m in funding and secured a €20m debt facility from Ulster Bank.
The business has put this access to capital to good use and has been on an acquisition spree since, completing over 15 deals in total. This comes as no surprise given the experience of founders Blacklock and Crowe who previously sold Keep It Safe to J2 Global and completed c. 50 M&A deals during their time in J2.
Ekco’s acquisition targets have been located in Ireland, the UK, and the Netherlands. Ekco appears to be on the right trajectory to achieve its goal of becoming a top-four managed cloud services provider in Europe. The business has cemented its status as a leader in the Irish and UK markets and seems to be using the Netherlands as a base to improve its position in mainland Europe.
Source: Ekco Press Release
Coillte and ESB form renewable energy JV
Deal Details: Coillte and ESB have announced a new 50:50 joint venture company called FuturEnergy Ireland.
The joint venture is aiming to help Ireland deliver on its green energy targets, achieving net zero emissions by 2050. The business will actively drive the country’s transition to a low carbon economy by developing 1GW of wind energy projects by 2030. This is enough energy to power an estimated 500,000 homes.
Coillte’s portfolio of proposed wind farm projects and its Renewable Energy division has now transferred to FuturEnergy Ireland.
In its financial year to December 2020, Coillte reported revenue of c. €285.3m (down from €327.4m in 2019) and EBITDA of c. €66.3m (down from c. €102.8m in 2019). Meanwhile, ESB reported EBITDA of c. €1.3bn and revenue of c €5.4bn.
Advisers: IBI Corporate Finance advised Coillte.
Renatus Comment: This would appear to be a major boost to Ireland’s Climate Action agenda. This will also make Coillte, a custodian of 7% of Ireland’s land, a key player in Ireland’s transition to a more sustainable future in electricity generation.
The renewables sector has seen strong M&A activity in recent times. Notable deals this alone include: Aker Horizons acquiring a 75% stake in Mainstream Renewable Power at a reported €1bn valuation; Power Capital Renewable Power acquiring a controlling stake in an extensive solar portfolio under development in Cork & Waterford by Terra Solar; and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) acquiring Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta, the developer of the Sceirde Rocks offshore wind farm, in Galway, to name but a few.
Source: ESB
BAI Communications acquires Vilicom
Deal Details: BAI Communications (BAI), a global communications infrastructure provider, has acquired Vilicom for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in Ireland, Vilicom is a provider of high performance 4G and 5G mobile and cellular coverage solutions. The business offers a range of specialist wireless services including consultancy, design, optimisation, testing and systems integration across a multitude of sectors.
BAI Communications, headquartered in Australia, is a world leader in shared communications infrastructure, pioneering the future of advanced connectivity
Advisers:
Acting for Vilicom:
On legals, were DWF (Ireland), Ross Little, Head of Corporate, and Sean Forsyth, Corporate Associate, and Dermot Casserly, Employment Partner;
Corporate Finance advice was provided by Derek Dervan, Partner, at Roberts Nathan; and
Tax advice was provided by Crowe (Gerry O’Reilly, John Byrne and Michael O’Scathaill).
Acting for BAI
On legals were Mason Hayes Curran (Partner Ron Boucher and Associate, Andrew Tinker) and Ashurst in London. KMPG supported on tax.
Renatus Comment: This is BAI’s second acquisition in quick succession having acquired Mobilite, one of the largest privately-held telecommunications infrastructure companies in the United States, in October of this year.
Vilicom, which is led by its CEO Seán Keating, should benefit from being part of a group with global reach.
Source: BAI
Otis Ireland acquired by Fain Ascensores
Deal Details: Spanish lift and escalator maintenance provider Fain Ascensores is to acquire Otis Ireland, the Irish arm of the Connecticut-based elevator company Otis Worldwide. The financial terms were not disclosed.
Otis Ireland will be renamed Irish Lift Services, one of the commercial brands that the group was using in Ireland.
It has a workforce of around 100 people, which will be integrated into the Fain group, and manages a total of 4,700 elevators throughout the country.
Advisers: For Fain, a Beauchamps team of Damian Maloney and Shaun O’Shea provided egal advice.
For Otis, A&L Goodbody provided legal advice while Raymond Donegan of IBI Corporate Finance also acted for Otis.
Renatus Comment: Companies such as this have appeal by virtue of recurring revenue streams but this is often countered by legacy union participation making it hard to drive efficiencies.
Source: Expnsión Orbyt
Morgan McKinley acquires Abtran
Deal Details: Cork-headquartered professional services recruitment company Morgan McKinley has announced plans to acquire Abtran, a fellow Cork-based provider of business process management and outsourcing solutions. The deal consideration, which is subject to CCPC approval, was not disclosed.
Morgan McKinley, founded by Pat Fitzgerald in 1988, has grown to become a major player in the global recruitment specialist space with a presence in Australia, North America, Asia, Africa, The Middle East, the UK, and Ireland.
Abtran was co-founded in 1997 by the founder of Morgan McKinley, Pat Fitzgerald, and brother Michael Fitzgerald. The business’s primary focus is providing business process management services to customers operating in the utilities, transport, financial services, and governmental sectors. Abtran has four offices throughout Ireland located in Cork, Dublin, Sligo, and Kildare.
The combined entity post-acquisition will reportedly employ c. 2,500 people and generate projected annual revenue of c. €300m.
Advisers:
Morgan McKinley received legal advice from a Ronan Daly Jermyn team of Ashling Walsh (Corporate & Commercial), Marion Meehan and Aisling O’Donovan (Banking & Finance), Diarmuid Gavin (Competition) and John Cuddigan (Tax).
The Ronan Daly Jermyn transaction team was supported by Maria Walsh (Corporate and Commercial), Jennifer Cashman (Employment), Antoinette Vahey (Employment), Ricky Kelly (Data Protection), and Treasa Seoighe (Banking and Finance).
Abtran received legal advisory from Matheson team, led by Corporate M&A partner Brian McCloskey and Corporate M&A senior associate John Coary.
Renatus Comment: Both businesses were founded by the Fitzgerald family who sold a majority stake in Abtran to private equity firm, Carlyle Cardinal Ireland, and have now regained control and combined the two.
Source: Morgan McKinley Press Release
Tesco acquires Joyce’s
Deal Details: Tesco Ireland has announced the acquisition of Galway-based supermarket chain Joyce’s. The acquisition is currently pending approval from the CCPC and the deal consideration was not disclosed.
Joyce’s was founded by Patrick C Joyce (Snr.) in 1951 as a single grocery store. The business has grown to become one of the largest independent, family run supermarkets in the country with a total of 10 supermarkets throughout Galway employing c. 500 people. All employees will be given the option to stay on as staff of Tesco Ireland post acquisition. Prior to the acquisition the business was operated and owned by Pat Joyce (Jnr.)
Tesco Ireland is the Republic of Ireland subsidiary of the supermarket giant Tesco PLC. Tesco Ireland is based in Dublin and operates over 150 stores throughout the country with a total of 13,000 employees. Tesco PLC is based in Britain and is the third largest retailer worldwide by gross revenue.
Tesco PLC is currently trading at c. £278.35 and has been steadily increasing since a large drop in stock price at the start of 2021. In its most recent annual report, Tesco PLC reported revenue of £53.4bn and EBITDA and a “retail EBITDA” of c. £3.6bn.
Advisers:
Joyce’s
Joyce’s received advisory from the following:
Mazars (Deal advisory) with the team consisting of John Bowe, Damian Connaughton, Daniel Gallery, Austin Sammon, Aisling Callanan, Paul Mee, Emma Collins
Jim Tierney Tax Consultants (Tax) consisting of Jim Tierney
Eversheds (Legal) with the team consisting of Enda Newtons, Emer Shelly, Ryan Duggan, Robert Devan
HOS Partners (Legal) with the team consisting of Aideen Hennessy, Helen Flynn and Andrea McGill
Tesco
Tesco received advisory from the following:
Focus Capital Partners (corporate finance) led by Robert Adams with assistance from Paul Meade
KPMG (corporate finance and transaction services) with the team consisting of Anthony Yu, Rob Adams and Niall O’Dea
A&L (Legal) led by Stephen Quinlivan and Paul McGrath.
Renatus Comment: Despite being operation in Ireland for 25 years, this acquisition is the first example of Tesco buying an existing chain of stores in the Republic of Ireland. This deal comes after Tesco offloaded its fuel business, which consisted of 22 filling stations in a sale to DCC in early 2020.
Equinor’s Corrib gas field stake acquired by Vermilion
Deal Details: Norwegian-based energy company Equinor has agreed to sell its stake in the Corrib gas field to partner Vermilion Energy.
The reported consideration is €434m, with Equinor and Vermilion agreeing to hedge some 70% of the production for 2022 and 2023. The parties have also agreed a contingent payment that will be paid on a portion of the revenue if European gas prices exceed a given floor level.
The Corrib field started production in 2015 and is located 83 kilometres off Ireland’s northwest coast. This deal sees Equinor putting an end to its activities in Ireland.
Advisers: None mentioned
Renatus Comment: Equinor, with its reported 36.5% stake, are the second major backer to exit the Corrib project with Shell having previously sold its stake to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in 2017. At the time of Shell’s departure, the losses incurred by Shell on the project were estimated to be c. €1 billion.
Source: Equinor
Kilsaran acquires Oran Precast
Deal Details: Concrete products manufacturer, Kilsaran, has acquired Galway-based Oran Precast for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1964 by the late Patrick McKeown in the village of Kilsaran in County Louth, Kilsaran International has grown considerably to become Ireland’s largest independent manufacturer of a range of concrete products.
Oran Pre-Cast is an industry leader in the design, manufacture and supply of bespoke precast concrete structural products in both Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Oran Precast’s current management team will remain, with Derek Duffy becoming the Managing Director of Kilsaran Precast and John Dooley becoming the Commercial Director for the combined entity.
Advisers: A Leman Solicitors team of Mark Roberts and Sharon Meaney acted as legal advisers to the shareholders of Oran Pre-Cast.
Renatus Comment: In its financial year to December 2019 (the most recently filed accounts), Oran Pre-Cast Limited reported revenue of c. €21.1m which converted to an EBITDA of c. €1.2m. The business was owned by Melville family members Michael, Peter, Patricia and Caroline alongside Maeve Dooley.
Kilsaran does not disclose group financial performance. The business is still owned by McKeown family members Dermot, David, Roy, Derry and Mary. David and Derry McKeown act as Co-CEOs.
Source: Kilsaran Press Release
SMBclix is acquired by Legacy Communications
Deal Details: Legacy Communications, a data-driven PR agency based in Lucan, Co. Dublin, has acquired Cork-based SEO agency, SMBclix. The deal consideration was not disclosed.
Legacy Communications was founded in 2012 by cousins Bernard and James Brogan as a sports agency that represented primarily Gaelic Football players. The company gradually evolved into what it is today and has won a host of awards in the space. The business employs c. 16 people and is owned by David Clancy, Bernard Brogan, James Brogan, and Kevin Moore.
SMBclix was founded in 2014 by Mícheál Brennan and specializes in pay-per-click campaigns, search engine optimization, and web design. The business provides its services to clients in Ireland, London, Toronto, and Boston. Founder Mícheál Brennan will join the Legacy Communications team as Head of search following the acquisition.
Advisers: None mentioned
Renatus Comment: Given the business’ beginnings as a sports agency and pivot into the marketing space, Legacy Communications are proving to be a hugely resilient operator and will likely be a company to watch in the digital marketing space in the future.
Source: BizPlus
DEALS UPDATES & OTHER NEWS
Renatus partner company, CRS, opens UK facility
Deal Details: Renatus’ partner company, CRS, this week opened its new Ellesmere port facility in Liverpool. CRS is one of the UK&I’s leading providers of modular cold storage solutions. The facility will help CRS service its growing customer base in the UK and expand its operations there.
Earlier this week, CRS’ new site was visited by Enterprise Ireland and Minster Robert Troy. This visit was in recognition of CRS’ commitment to reducing its carbon footprint through the opening of this new facility, which has created a UK base, reducing logistics.
Source: CRS LinkedIn
Boojum opens new outlet in Blanchardstown
Deal Details: Renatus partner company, and Ireland’s leading burrito chain, Boojum, has opened its newest outlet in Blanchardstown. This update marks the opening of Boojum’s 18th store in Ireland since it was established in Belfast in 2007.
You can see a video of the new store here: Boojum – New Store
Source: Boojum Press Release
Gowan acquisition of FCA complete
Deal Details: In October of this year, it was announced that family-owned, Gowan Group, which controls various successful trading companies, mostly in the Irish motor trade reached a deal to acquire FCA Ireland, the Irish distribution business for Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Jeep.
This acquisition was recently cleared by the CCPC allowing Gowan Group to successfully assume control over FCA Ireland. The employees of FCA Ireland will transfer to Gowan Group.
Advisers: LK Shields team, comprising Richard Curran, Marco Hickey, Pat Ryan and Kristofer O’Shea, acted for the Gowan Group.
Source: Irish Times
Sicon to acquire Sensori
Deal Details: Irish competition regulator has been notified of the proposed acquisition by Sicon Limited, via its wholly owned subsidiary Sicon Strategic Investments Holdings Limited, of sole control of Sensori Facilities Management Limited.
The principal activity of the Sicon Group is, through its wholly-owned subsidiary John Sisk (Holdings) Limited, as an international construction company, headquartered in Ireland with businesses across Europe.
Sensori provides integrated property facility management service to offices, retail units and commercial buildings, mixed development, government, industrial and educational premises.
At present, Sensori is jointly owned by John Sisk (Holdings) Limited, and Designer Group Engineering Contractors Holdings DAC.
Source: CCPC
COMPANY PERFORMANCE
EBITDA is an accounting term and is often the best indicator of profitability in non-capital intensive businesses before financing and tax are considered. In capital-intensive
Ballinlough Refrigeration Limited manages, sells, services and repairs a fleet of refrigerated units and tail lifts. The business is based in Kingswood, Co.Dublin and is owned by Joseph and Sandra Jordan.
In its financial year to December 2020, the business generated turnover of c. €16.2m, which converted to an EBITDA of c. €1.2m, a decrease of 3.6% YoY (only c. €44k in nominal terms). FY December 2020’s performance should be considered against a backdrop of an extremely challenging business environment, as a result of Covid. Despite this, management improved the gross margin profile of the business, from 18.8% in FY19 to 21.1% in FY20, which allowed EBITDA to remian effectively flat YoY. As with most businesses, Ballinlough received c. €455k of Government grants during the year which we have not included in our EBITDA calculation.
The business has also grown its cash position by c. €280k, a rise of 19.6% YoY. The business employed an average of 94 people at an annual cost of €4.3m.
CJK Electrical Limited, trading as CJK Engineering is a Dublin-based electrical contractor focused on the industrial, pharmaceutical, commercial, and healthcare sectors. The business was founded in 1998 by Conor Kearney and has completed projects throughout Ireland for various large enterprises including IBM, Nissan, Diageo, Linesight, and many more.
Despite a challenging 2020 for the Irish construction industry, as a result of Covid-related restrictions, CJK reported a turnover of c. €29.1m which converted to an EBITDA of c. €1.5m. These figures represent a 4.5% and 10.3% increase respectively YoY.
Significant cash movements include the purchase of fixed assets of c. €144k, and the payment of dividends amounting to c. €275k. Overall, CJK experienced a positive cash movement of c. €958k in 2020 leaving the business with closing net cash and cash equivalents of c.€3.7m.
The business employed an average of 190 staff throughout 2020 at a cost of c. €8.9m. The business is wholly owned by Conor Kearney (founder) and Vincent Bruen, with Kearney being the majority owner.
RECENT FUNDRAISINGS
Who: Oohpod, a parcel drop-off, and collection locker service. The company was founded by entrepreneur John Tuohy, former founder and chief executive of Parcel Motel and Nightline, both of which were sold to UPS.
Oohpod is an agnostic network of automated parcel, grocery and laundry pick up and drop off points. It is designed to be used by all postal and parcel operators as well business user of all sizes from micro businesses to large retailers for consumer click & collect orders and returns of items or services bought online.
What: The business has raised a seed round of €3m which included an investment of €1.5m from logistics company JMC Van Trans and a further €1.5m from founder, Tuohy. Advisors included independent consultants Declan Magee and Mick Perry, Grant Thornton on tax and corporate finance, and William Fry on legals.
Why: The funding will go toward getting the business ready to begin trading, which is due to start in January from a premises in Airways industrial estate, Dublin.
Source: Sunday Times
Who: Sustainable design software company FenestraPro has secured additional funding.
What: FenestraPro has closed a new follow-on round of funding of €1m, bringing the total amount raised to date to over €3m. This round, which was oversubscribed, was led by Elkstone Capital with participation from a combination of existing and new investors.
Why: The funding will be used to continue the growth of new clients globally, support and grow the existing enterprise user base, and the continued development of FenestraPro to improve workflows and facilitate the design and fabrication of more sustainable buildings.
Source: FenestraPro
Who: Real-time healthcare billing start-up MedoSync, founded by emergency medicine consultant Dr Martin Rochford and tech industry veteran Séamus Cooley in 2019, raises funding.
What: €1.2m round backers include JP Sisk, Enrique Curran, Jim Hannon, Michael Harding and Enterprise Ireland.
Why: The financing will be used to support expansion.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Mainstream Renewable Power, a global wind and solar investment company. Aker Horizons recently acquired 75% of the equity in Mainstream at a reported c. €1bn valuation. The business was founded by Eddie O’Connor who still retains minority ownership.
What: The business has raised €90m in funding from existing shareholders which included Aker Horizons.
Why: The funding is to be used to accelerate the company’s international growth and support various projects in its pipeline.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Neuravalens, which is a global health-tech company that creates non-invasive neurostimulation products. The company is based in Northern Ireland.
What: £225K grant is provided by Invest NI.
Why: The new funding is to carry out clinical trials into the use of its technology for the treatment of anxiety and PTSD.
Source: Irish Times
Who: The Midleton Distillery in Cork secures investment from Irish Distillers.
What: Irish Distillers is to invest €13m in the project.
Why: The existing attraction at Midleton Distillery will be transformed to accommodate new and interactive whiskey tours and various tasting experiences. It will also develop a new shopping, bar, café and restaurant facilities.
Source: RTE
Who: WineSpark, an Irish online wine subscription start-up. The business was founded by Eamon Fitzgerald, a former Naked Wines and Accenture employee, and is aiming to sign up 10,000 Irish subscribers.
What: €300,000 funding comes from various European winemakers, many of which are the business’s largest suppliers. This included names such as Tuscan winemaker, Federico Cerelli, Spanish Epicure Wines, French grands Vignobles en Mediterranee, and German GP Winery.
Why: The funding is to be used to get the business operational, at which point Fitzgerald plans to bootstrap the business.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Riley, a Cork-based eco-friendly period subscription box service. The business was co-founded by Lauren Duggan, Fiona Parfrey, and Aine Kilkenny.
What: The business has successfully raised a reported €400,000 in funding. €250,000 of which came from crowdfunding platform Seedrs with the remaining €150,000 from Brian MacGoey of Revington Portfolio Investments and John Riordan, chairman of Shopify.
Why: The funding will go toward funding overseas growth which will be achieved through acquiring new talent, developing more products, and rolling out a new digital marketing campaign.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Redesdale, a new food investment fund launched by John Conroy (former Merrion Capital chief executive). The fund will be focused on early-stage food businesses with a focus on health. The fund has assembled an impressive management and advisory board team which includes: Niall FitzGerald, Stan McCarthy, Mary Ann O’Brien, Michael Carey, Michael Cantwell, Eamonn Coghlan, Owen Murphy, and John Stapleton.
What: The fund has raised €27m from various institutional investors and private individuals including Musgrave and Enterprise Ireland.
Why: The funding will go toward investing in early-stage food and wellness business with a focus on healthy products.
Source: The Irish Times
Who: Frolo, a London-based single parent community website that is due to launch a dating app in January. The website was founded by Dubliner Zoë Desmond and has over 30,000 members across the UK and Ireland.
What: The business has raised c. €600,000 (£500,000) in a funding round which recently closed. The funding round was led by Ada Ventures and was participated in by Caterina Fake’s (Flickr and Hunch), Yes VC.
Why: The funding will go toward launching the dating app in the USA which is expected to go ahead around June of next year.
Source: The Business Post
EXECUTIVE AND BOARD APPOINTMENTS
We in Renatus believe that more important than the deals are the people and we are pleased to provide you with details of key recent executive and board-level appointments.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
We have often thought out loud about inflation in recent months.
The argument that short-term energy spikes are inflating prices is fair. However, from talking to lots of businesses, most have not yet put their prices up to counter increased costs but are on the verge of doing so. To us, this suggests that current inflation is not capturing what is coming.
Anything north of modest inflation cannot be good, as it will most likely be flanking interest rates rises, and that could choke a lot of parts of the economy.
@RenatusCapital Tweets
4.2% & 12.3%
The respective monthly & annual decrease in approved Irish mortgages during October 2021, with a total of 4,568 mortgages valued at €1.188bn approved during this period. According to @BPFINews
1.7%
The month-on-month decline in retail sales in October 2021, however on an annual basis, retail volumes were 1.5% higher year-on-year. @CSOIreland
4.9%
The increase in Euro Zone inflation as of November 2021, the highest level of consumer price growth in 25 years on record. According to @EU_Eurostat @IrishTimesBiz
6.9%
The Irish COVID-adjusted unemployment rate for November 2021, for all persons including those on the COVID-related supports, down from 20.4% YoY. @CSOIreland
5.4%
The YoY increase in the average weekly earnings in the State for Q3 2021 amounting to €837.42 paid per week. @CSOIreland
12.3%
The YoY decrease in the new Irish mortgage approvals for October 2021 amounting to 4,568 approvals. @BPFINews
13.5%
The biennial increase in the Irish startup funding for the first 6 months of 2021 amounting to €8.38m invested into 37 startups, according to HBAN data.
@Independent_ie
€136bn
The Irish household savings deposit as at the end of October 2021, a 10.6% increase YoY, according to @CentralBank @RTEbusiness
1.4%
The YoY decrease in the volume of Irish construction output for Q3 2021. Vs pre-pandemic 2019, the respective volume is down by 9.8%. @CSOIreland
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ABOUT RENATUS
Renatus was established in 2014 to provide growth funding to growing Irish SMEs and to partner with ambitious management teams to help companies reach their full potential.
Renatus targets companies with sustainable earnings of €1m+ and valuations typically in the range of €5m – €20m. Our typical solutions include:
- Succession planning
- Management buyouts
- Management buy-ins
- Growth financing – both organic and acquisition growth financing
- Full and partial share sale.
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