Dunedin to fully exit Alpha via £163m IPO

Kenny Wastell
06 October 2017

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Dunedin-backed asset and wealth management consultancy Alpha Financial Markets Consulting has priced its IPO at 160 pence per share, giving it a market cap of ТЃ163m.

The listing marks a full exit for Dunedin, which will make £89.6m from the transaction, and comes just 20 months after the GP acquired the company from Baird Capital.

The flotation consists of 22 million new and 56.4 million existing shares valued at a combined £125.4m. It will raise an additional £35.2m for the company, which intends to use the fresh capital to pay down all its existing debt facilities and to pay for fees associated with the placing.

Alpha has primarily expanded via an organic growth strategy over the last six years, with increasing market demand for its blend of consultancy and benchmarking data in response to regulatory changes and cost pressures.

Alpha has also undertaken an international expansion strategy under Dunedin's tenure, opening offices in Edinburgh, Boston, Geneva and Singapore, adding to its previous locations in London, Paris, New York, The Hague and Luxembourg. At the time of announcing its intention to float, the group said it recently acquired a Germany-based business.

The company's turnover increased from £6.7m in the year ending March 2011 to £43.6m in the year ending March 2017, with adjusted EBITDA growing from £2.16m in 2012 to £8.55m in its most recent financial year.

Dunedin is invested in Alpha via its third buyout fund, which held a final close on £300m in June 2013.

Grant Thornton and Berenberg are advising Alpha in connection with the listing, which is expected to take place on 11 October.

Previous funding
Baird was the first institutional fund manager to invest in Alpha, purchasing a minority stake in October 2013 in a deal valuing the business at £28m, according to unquote" data. During its investment period, Alpha's headcount increased from 99 to 200.

Dunedin acquired Alpha from Baird in February 2016, in a deal worth £80m. Debt for the deal was supplied by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, while Beechbrook Capital provided a mezzanine loan.

Company
Alpha was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in London. It provides consultancy services to asset and wealth managers, as well as their third-party administrators, and has a headcount of 250.

People
Dunedin – Mark Ligertwood, Oliver Bevan (partners); Andrew Davidson (assistant director).
Alpha Financial Markets Consulting – Euan Fraser (CEO).

Advisers
Vendor – Osborne Clarke, Jonathan King, Rebecca Gordon, Kate Mellor, Stuart Miller (legal).