Beech Tree backs £35m Wavenet MBO

Under its new ownership model, Wavenet will look to expand through an acquisitive growth strategy. The business has previously made bolt-on acquisitions, most recently buying Worcester-based UK Data IT in October 2014.

As part of the MBO, Beech Tree founding partner Paul Franks and investor Adam Rudd will take a seat on the Wavenet board. The company has also appointed former Alternative Networks CEO Edward Spurrier as chairperson and former Teleperformance CFO Andrew Ashton as finance director.

The deal marks Beech Tree’s second buyout of 2016, having invested in loan broker The Fluent Money Group in March.

Debt
The Royal Bank of Scotland provided a debt package to support the deal.

Company
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands, Wavenet provides communications services including IT networks, internet, fixed-line and mobile telephone networks. The business, which primarily serves SEMs, has around 2,000 clients across the UK.

People
Beech Tree - Paul Franks, Andy Marsh (founding partners); Adam Rudd (investor).
Wavenet - Bill Dawson (CEO); Edward Spurrier (chairperson); Chris Jones (founder).

Advisers
Equity - Eversheds, Antony Walsh, Ben Moylan, Nick Turner, Amy Strettle (legal); Oakley Advisory, Christian Craggs, Anthony Yaneza (corporate finance); PwC, Russell Worrall, Graham Watson, Nick Hatton (financial due diligence, tax); Diligent Consultancy, Dave Rogers (IT due diligence).
Vendor - Orbis Corporate Finance, Shah Zaki, Steve Nock (corporate finance); Higgs and Sons, Richard Griffiths, Jody Webb (legal); Spencer Gardner Dickins, David Thomas (financial due diligence, tax).
Management - Gateley, Chris Reed (legal).
Debt - Pinsent Masons, Oliver Morgan (legal).

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• UK / Ireland
• Technology
• United Kingdom