Isis invests £3.5m in MBO of Armstrong Craven

Company founder Sue Craven, CEO Matthew Mellor and COO Rachel Davis took part in the MBO of the company, which saw Armstrong separate from its listed parent company, Work Group Plc, to become privately owned.

The fresh financing from the transaction will be used by Armstrong to begin its pursuit of expanding its services to new areas, including Singapore and the US.

According to Work Group's website, it is privately backed by Octopus Investments, which owns a 6.1% stake in the group, as well as an 8.6% stake owned by Penta Capital. Overall, 40% of the company shareholding is privately held.

Company
Founded in 1990, Armstrong Craven is headquartered in Manchester with additional offices in London, New York and Hong Kong. The company's operating profit for 2012 was £266,000.

Armstrong offers headhunting services for senior executive, non-executive and specialist positions in companies that operate in the healthcare, life sciences, retail, technology, financial and not-for-profit sectors.

The company provides its services to 120 countries and currently employs 51 staff. Work Group acquired the company in 2005 and then listed on the AIM London Stock Exchange in 2007.

People
Matthew Mellor is the CEO of Armstrong. Mellor, alongside founder Craven and COO Davis, led the deal for the company. Isis investment director Nick Holder and partner Pete Clarke led the deal for the GP. Holder will join Armstrong's board of directors following the deal.

Advisers
Equity – Pinsent Masons, Gregg Davison, Andy Phillips (Legal); BDO, Chris Heatlie, Sarah Cumming (Financial due diligence); Armstrong Transaction Services, Tom Raymond (Commercial due diligence).
Management – Clearwater, Michael Reeves, Chiara Pettinicchio (Corporate finance).

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