Dear Reader,
You are receiving this mail every week as we see you as a key partner and we look forward to continuing to enjoy our journey with you over the decades ahead.
Please find below this week’s newsletter covering the latest M&A, company performance, fundraisings and executive moves.
We would like to remind you that The Real Deal 2019, Ireland’s premier SME event, will take place in Goffs, Co. Kildare on October 10th.
This week we announced that Donagh Kelly will be joining the Deals of the Year panel at The Real Deal 2019 in Goffs Co. Kildare on October 10th.
KN Group, led by CEO Donagh Kelly, is a €350m turnover specialist utilities services provider. The company employs more than 2,500 people and provides services to clients including Eir, Vodafone, Sky, Virgin, Openreach, ESB and the London Underground. An inspirational entrepreneur with a keen eye for opportunities, Donagh focuses in on the importance of running a family type business while also being mindful of the evolving needs of modern-day staff. Join Donagh on the day as he gives his insights on how he first founded the company as a 23-year-old, the importance of building networks, and the recent multi million-euro sale/merger of KN Group with French company Circet.
Donagh will join David McKernan of Java Republic and Nikki Evans of PerfectCard on the Deals of the Year panel. Book your place here: https://go.renatus.ie/e/
Other speakers on the day include Bobby Healy, Alan Cox, Helen Tynan and Liam Sheedy with more to be announced. Each panel will be moderated by Matt Cooper.
This event will be sold out, so please book your place now to avoid disappointment.
For more information, please visit the website here and the 2018 highlights video can be viewed here.
We hope to see you on the day!
Deal Details: Irish video game firm Keywords Studios has announced it will acquire TV+SYNCHRON (TVS) for €3.7m in cash and shares.
Dublin-based Keywords, founded in 1998, has more than 50 facilities in 21 countries. It provides art creation, software engineering, testing, localisation, audio and customer care services in more than 50 languages for 950 clients using 16 games platforms worldwide.
Keywords Studios is listed on the AIM index in London.
Based in Berlin, Germany, TVS has more than 25 years of experience of dubbing and localizing content into German, working across a range of media and formats. It includes HBO, Amazon, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros among its clients.
Keywords said revenue rose by 39.3pc to €153.2m in the first six months of 2019, while adjusted profit before tax – reflecting changes in its accounting rules since 2018 – rose by 14.3pc to €18.4m.
Like-for-like revenue, which factors out the impact of four acquisitions over the past year, rose by 17.3pc to €146.4m.
Advisers: Keywords Studios was advised by Numis (Financial Adviser); Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank (Nominated Adviser); James Black / Tom Ballard (Corporate Broker)
Renatus Comment: Continuing their aggressive acquisition-focused growth strategy, this marks the ninth acquisition by Keyword Studios that we have covered in our weekly newsletter since the start of 2018. Executed well, bolt-on acquisitions can be a real accelerator to growth and allows businesses to bring in new capabilities or enter into new markets quickly.
Source: Keywords Studios
Deal Details: Italicatessen, one of Ireland’s largest independent importers and distributors of Italian food, has acquired Italian food specialist supplier Del Gusto Foods.
Italicatessen is owned by Keywords co-founder Giorgio Guastalla and services the canteen of Keyword’s offices in Leopardstown.
Del Gusto Foods owner Anna Coleman is reported to have received €500,000 worth of shares in Italicatessen in consideration for the sale of her business.
Advisers: None mentioned.
Source: The Sunday Times
Deal details: Six Nations have agreed a deal to sell 15% share to private equity group CVC Capital Partners for just over £300m (€338.66m).
The contract with CVC will not just cover the Six Nations tournament but also includes autumn internationals and summer tours.
CVC have already bought a stake in the Gallagher Premiership and are close to agreeing a deal for a part of the Guinness Pro14 league.
Source: RTE
Deal details: Ballymena bus maker Wrightbus is in talks to sell the business to UK Entrepreneur Jo Bamford. It is reported that Wrightbus needs a cash injection of around £30m (€34m) to stay in business, with its parent company, Wrights Group, hiring professional services firm Deloitte in July to advise on talks with potential investors.
Talks have broken down with at least one potential investor, with Northern Ireland man Darren Donnelly announcing he was withdrawing his bid to take over the company. Chinese company Weichai has also been linked to a possible takeover, but according to reports had started to lose interest in a potential deal.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
We in Renatus believe that more important than the deals are the people and we have teamed up with leaders in this field Korn Ferry to provide you details of key recent executive and board level appointments
Dechert appoints new global funds partner in Dublin
Dechert LLP has announced the appointment of Ciara O’Leary as a partner in Dublin, its second partner hire in Ireland this year. Her appointment to the firm’s global funds practice group follows the appointment in January of Carol Widger as managing partner in Ireland. Ms O’Leary advises clients on a wide range of legal and regulatory matters, and has extensive experience establishing and operating European retail regulated funds (UCITS), exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and alternative investment funds (AIFs).
Revolut Ireland appoints new CEO
Former Ulster Bank chief administrative officer Joe Heneghan has been appointed to the helm of challenger bank Revolut’s Irish operation. Mr Heneghan will be responsible for defining and implementing the Irish business strategy, including maintaining and expanding Revolut’s offering. Prior to joining Revolut, Mr Heneghan spent 14 years at Ulster Bank in various senior roles such as head of risk management, director of customer experience and products and, most recently, chief administrative officer. He has also served as head of product management at First Active and was a marketing manager at Permanent TSB bank.
RSA Ireland hires new chief from Insurance Ireland
RSA Ireland has appointed Kevin Thompson as the new CEO after receiving Central Bank approval. He succeeds Ken Norgrove, who has been at the helm for over five years. Mr Norgrove will now take up the role of CEO of RSA Groups Scandinavian unit. Mr Thompson previously served as the CEO of Insurance Ireland. He was also the CEO of AIG Life Ireland and vice president of Multinational Group Risk Europe.
Glen Dimplex group of companies appoints new Executive Chairman
Businessman Neil Naughton has been appointed executive chairman of the Glen Dimplex group of companies founded by his father, Martin Naughton. Mr Naughton had been the deputy chairman of the electrical goods manufacturer since 2010, but it was not an executive or day-to-day management role. In recent weeks, however, he joined the business in a full-time executive capacity and has taken over as chairman from Martin McCourt, formerly of Dyson, who had been Glen Dimplex chairman in a non-executive capacity. His brother, Fergal Naughton, will continue in his role as chief executive of the group.
Ex-Aer Lingus CEO joins Datalex board
Former Aer Lingus chief executive Stephen Kavanagh is set to join travel software firm Datalex as a non-executive director. Mr Kavanagh, who stepped down from the airline’s CEO role in January, is one of three new non-executive directors joining the Datalex board within the next couple of weeks. His appointment comes as Datalex shores up its corporate governance and financial reporting structures since an accounting scandal broke at the firm earlier this year. Mr Kavanagh was appointed chief executive at Aer Lingus in 2015, just as airline group IAG started its takeover pursuit of the Irish carrier. Mr Kavanagh has remained on the board of Aer Lingus as a non-executive director. Mr Kavanagh was also recently appointed a non-executive director of aircraft leasing firm CDB Aviation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing.
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 businesses EBIT or EBITDA less average Capital Expenditure are often better measures. YoY is an acronym for the year-on-year movement in turnover, EBITDA, etc.
Based in Dublin, Home Project Centre Limited is a wholesaler and retailer of building supplies through its nationwide network of 14 branches. The group trades under multiple names including T J O’Mahony’s, C&D Providers, PH Ross and McCarthys Hardware. FY18 was a good trading year for the business that saw turnover and EBITDA grow by 8% and c. 22%, respectively. The business employed 249 staff during the period at a cost of c. €9.6m. The company invested €2.4m in CapEx last year (€2.1m in freehold and leasehold property) part funded through additional bank debt of c. €810k. At the period end there was c. €2.4m of cash on the balance sheet against debt and finance lease obligations of c. €9.3m. The business is owned by Sean Moran, Drewry Pearson and Dennis O’Connor.
Alpha Wireless Limited is a market leading specialist in designing and manufacturing high performing, superior quality antenna solutions. Based in Laois, the company has over 12 year’s experience in providing reliable and innovative solutions to mobile and fixed wireless service providers around the world. Alpha Wireless had a successful year in FY18 which saw revenue increase by 13.3% to c. €16.4m while EBITDA increased by 42.0% to €1.8m as gross margins increased from 39.9% to 45.1%. There was a net cash increase of c. €102k for the year after significant working capital movements as well as an investment of c. €491k into a mix of fixed assets. Cash in hand at year end stood at c. €940k while there was a bank overdraft facility of c. €5k leaving a net cash balance of c. €935k. The company is largely owned by Fergal Lawlor (80.95%) as well as Taoglas Group Holdings Limited (10%), Martin Barrett (9%) and Claire Lawlor (0.05%).
Based in Armagh, Shelbourne Motors Limited is a car dealership that was founded in 1973 by Fred Ward and is now recognised as one of the most progressive and growing car dealer groups in Northern Ireland. The company represents top global brands such as Toyota, Renault, Dacia and Nissan while also offering a hugely successful used car market, rental division, body repair and associated services. In its most recent financial year, the company experienced revenue growth of 2.0% to c. £39.9m, with EBITDA also up 4.9% to c. £1.9m. The majority of revenue came from the sale of goods which amounted to 93.4% of total revenue at c. £37.2m, with the remainder attributable to the rendering of services and commission. The company employed on average 118 people in FY18 at an annual cost of c. £3.3m. The business recorded a cash increase of c. £246k for the year leaving a negative cash balance of c. £115k at year end. The company invested c. £3.8m in fixed assets and received c. £2.3m from the sale of company assets (motor vehicles). The company also paid a dividend during the year of c. £338k. The company is owned by Caroline Nichola Willis (33.33%), Richard Frederick Ward (33.33%) and Samuel Paul Ward (33.33%).
Who: Aurivo, one of Ireland’s largest milk producers, has completed an investment in a Donegal milk plant.
What: €6m is backed by Enterprise Ireland and financed from retained earnings, capital from the society’s membership, and a banking syndicate of AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank.
Why: The investment will double production and slash fossil fuel use at its milk processing plant in Killygordon.
Source: Irish Independent
Who: Healthcare property investor Primary Health Properties (PHP) has raised funding.
What: €70m has been raised through the senior secured notes and carry an interest rate of 1.509% over 12 year term.
Why: Part of the funds will be used to finance Irish developments and some of the proceeds have also been used to repay and cancel a €32.6 million loan facility with Bank of Ireland.
Source: Irish Times
Who: Sharon Cunningham, co-founder of Shorla Pharma, has been named Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, securing investment for her company.
What: Sharon received the €40,000 award run by the network of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), funded by the Government of Ireland and supported by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and Enterprise Ireland.
Why: Shorla focuses on improving existing treatments for children’s and women’s cancers making them more user friendly.
Source: RTE
Who: Belfast-based alternative finance provider Upstream, which was established eight years ago under Keys Commercial Finance, has secured backing.
What: The investment value and the identity of the US investor have not been disclosed.
Why: As a result of the investment the company can now provide individual funding lines of up to £2.5m (€2.82m). They are also expecting to increase staff numbers and potentially expand in the Republic.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
Who: Stripe, the online payments firm founded by Limerick brothers Patrick and John Collison, has confirmed a new funding round.
What: $250m (€226m) comes from a variety of financiers, including General Catalyst, Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz.
Why: The funding round follows announcement of expansion into eight new EU countries.It also recently announced a new corporate credit card, Stripe Corporate Card, and a lending business to small firms, Stripe Capital.
Source: Irish Independent
Who: Unity Technologies, one of Irelands leading Cloud Transformation and Managed Services partners to SME’s across Ireland and the UK, has raised funding.
What: €2.4m funding has been secured by Dunport Capital.
Why: The funds will be used to buy out shareholders and associated loan notes and provide additional working capital for the business
Source: Unity Technology Solutions
Who: Belfast Harbour announces investment drive.
What: £254m (€287.4m) funding is possible thanks to Trust Port status, which allows them to reinvest all of their net income.
Why: The investment will be used for building new estate infrastructure and facilities which will help generate 10,500 new jobs.
Source: Belfast Telegraph
Who: Galway-based start-up Bluedrop Medical, founded by Chris Murphy and Simon Kiersey, has secured funding.
What: €1.2m investment round was led by HBAN’s MedTech Syndicate and the company also received €2.5m from the European Innovation Council.
Why: The funds will be used to develop their device, carry out clinical trials and bring it to market in Europe and the US. Also to expand the company’s team over the next two years by hiring 10 new people in the areas of software development, quality and regulatory affairs, clinical trial management and commercial strategy development.
Source: RTE
Instead of ‘Thought for the Week’, we are bringing you a weekly tracker using odds from oddschecker and taking off bookmakers margin to come up with deemed percentage probability of outcomes.
The current markets read as follows:
Last week had major shifts and this week just had pronounced positions where there “favourite” outcomes hardened
Some Sort of Brexit:
Odds of What the Next Step Will Be:
All other next steps are sub 5% deemed probability.
If you are not in agreement with any of above you can get the odds here and back your opinion: Oddschecker – Brexit
The number of financial services firms said to be committed to relocating to Dublin post-Brexit, making Dublin the most popular choice, according to EY’s latest Financial Services Brexit Tracker. @rtenews
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