NorthEdge invests in Clearly Drinks

Financial details of the transaction remain undisclosed, though NorthEdge typically invests £5-35m of equity and has an investment sweet spot of £20-75m EV. Clearly Drinks generated EBITDA of £1.8m in 2016, according to publicly available documents.

Following the deal, Clearly Drinks will invest in the development of its manufacturing and bottling plant, marketing activity and product development. It will also look to capitalise on the introduction of a nationwide tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, which is scheduled to be implemented by the UK government from April 2018.

NorthEdge partner John Rastrick and investment manager Nicola McQuaid will take a seat on the group's board of directors. The business has also appointed Peter Cheung, chairperson of former NorthEdge portfolio company Accrol Group, as its chair.

The deal is the fourth investment made from the GP's second fund, which closed on its £300m hard-cap in March 2017 after just four months on the road.

NorthEdge has been active in the north-east region in recent months. In February, it floated pawnbroker and foreign exchange company Ramsdens with a market cap of £26.5m and sold speciality chemicals company Fine Industries to Chinese trade buyer Lianhe Chemical Technology Company in a deal valuing the business at £103m.

Company
Sunderland-headquartered Clearly Drinks manufactures soft drinks and flavoured spring water. It also provides bottling services for third-party soft drink manufacturers. The business has its own on-site spring and focuses on the sugar-free market, with brands including Perfectly Clear and 1870 Mixers.

Clearly Drinks has a headcount of more than 70 and generated a turnover of £13.5m in 2016.

People
NorthEdge Capital – John Rastrick (partner); Tom Rowley (investment director); Nicola McQuaid (investment manager).
Clearly Drinks Group – Finn O'Driscoll (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Grant Thornton, Richard Goldsack, Chris Archer, Duncan Morpeth (corporate finance); Bond Dickinson, Simon Pilling, James Cook, Catherine Willis (legal); CIL, Seb Chambers, Liam McGuinness (commercial due diligence); Henderson Insurance Brokers, Jon Harrison (insurance due diligence); PwC, Joel Smith, Tom Bennett (financial due diligence); Syngroup, Susanna Mitterer, Bernhard Morawetz (management due diligence).
Company – Livingstone Partners, Patrick Groarke, Karen Dawaf Harron (corporate finance); DWF, Frank Shephard, Darren Ormsby, Francesca Kinsella (legal); Saffery Champness (tax).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• UK / Ireland
• Consumer
• United Kingdom
• NorthEdge Capital