JC Flowers- and Encore-backed Cabot pulls IPO

The IPO was expected to take place this month and to raise £195m. It would have enabled JC Flowers and Encore to partially realise their investments.

Cabot's board released a statement saying "current IPO and broader market conditions" meant a flotation was no longer in the company's best interests. The statement added that a future IPO will be considered when conditions are "more supportive".

As unquote" recently reported, the number of listings for private-equity-backed companies across Europe is already up by more than a quarter compared to the whole of 2016.

JC Flowers acquired Cabot from AnaCap Financial Partners in a secondary buyout worth a reported £800m in May 2013. The acquirer then sold a 50.1% stake in the business to Encore for £128m just two weeks later, with an option for Encore to purchase the remaining shares in CCM within the next four to six years.

According to a statement issued at the time of Cabot's intention to float announcement, the business acquired £207m of debt portfolios in the 12 months to June 2017 and reduced its leverage from 4.6x to 4.1x during the same period. Following the proposed flotation, the company was targeting a leverage ratio of 3.75x.

Under the GPs' tenure, the business has grown its existing operations in Ireland and expanded into the Spanish, Portuguese and French markets. It is also in the process of acquiring Wescot Credit Services, a deal that is awaiting FCA approval by the end of the year.

Cabot acquires unsecured consumer debt from financial service institutions. The business generated a turnover of £270m in 2016 with adjusted EBITDA of £247.8m, according to the statement. It is headquartered in West Malling, Kent, and was formed in 2011 from two of AnaCap's portfolio companies, Cabot Financial Holdings and Apex Credit Management.

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• Topics
• Exits
• UK / Ireland
• Financials
• United Kingdom
• IPO
• JC Flowers
• Encore Capital