Phoenix sells Key Retirement to Partners Group for £200m

The sale is the sixth realisation from Phoenix's 2010 fund; previous exits include Closerstill, Edif, and Gym Group. Partners Group will allocate the investment across several funds, including its 2016 direct investment fund, which has not yet closed.

The new funding will be used to expand the company's distribution capacity, drive product innovation and broaden the product portfolio. The management team will be led by CEO-designate Simon Thompson after current CEO Colin Taylor steps down.

Previous funding
In May 2006, Cabot Square Capital acquired a 60% stake in Key Retirement Group for an undisclosed sum. It then sold its stake to Phoenix in June 2013 in a transaction that valued the company at £35m, netting a 5x return on the firm's original investment.
In this time the company had grown from an EBIT of £320,000 in 2005 to recording EBITDA of £5.2m in 2012. The staff increased from 88 to 240.

Company
Founded in 1998 and based in Preston, Key Retirement is an independent distributor of equity release loans and annuities for the over-55s. The firm also provides estate planning services, wills and lasting powers of attorney, travel and home insurance and life cover.

The company now employs 365 people and in 2016 advised 9,000 customers. It recorded an EBITDA of £4.7m on a turnover of £39.1m for the 2015 financial year, according to publicly available documents.

People
Partners Group – Andrew Deakin (managing director).
Phoenix Equity Partners – Sandy Muirhead (partner).
Key Retirement Group – Colin Taylor (CEO); Simon Thompson (deputy CEO).

Advisers
Equity – EY (commercial, financial, ESG due diligence); Goodwin Procter (legal). 

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