YFM Equity Partners backs MBO of Checkmate Fire

Nicole Tovstiga
19 March 2018

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YFM Equity Partners has backed Checkmate Fire, a UK-based fire protection company.

The transaction is the fifth investment from YFM Equity Partners 2016, which held a final close in April 2017.

With the fresh capital, the firm's CEO and his boardroom colleagues will be looking to invest further in sales and operations to accelerate growth across all areas of the business. This includes developing its customer base and expanding its geographical reach in the UK.

The Santander Growth Capital team, led by Ash Chopra and Dan Houman, provided a debt finance package for the deal.

The fund YFM Equity Partners 2016 was 22% deployed as of September 2017, according to Unquote Data. The private equity investor held a final close for its maiden closed-ended buyout fund on £45m, surpassing its target by 50%. It attracted an average commitment of £2.5m from institutions, family offices and high-net-worth individuals. Its LP pool consists entirely of UK-based investors.

The fund makes investments of up to £10m in profitable businesses in the UK.

Company
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Elland, West Yorkshire, Checkmate Fire is a passive fire protection installation and survey company.

Checkmate Fire's clients include UK-based facilities management and construction companies, and building owners across a variety of sectors, including healthcare, social housing, hospitality, prisons and commercial property.

People
YFM Equity Partners – Ian Waterfield (investment director).
Checkmate Fire – Mark Williams (CEO).

Advisers
Company – Eaton Smith, Alison Palmer (legal); Saffery Champness, Martin Holden (financial due diligence).
Equity – Freeths, Dahren Naidoo (legal); DSW Transaction Services, Jeff Gardner (financial due diligence); Tax Advisory Partnership, Russ Cahill (financial due diligence); CIL (commercial due diligence); Stratton HR, Anna Cornwallis (HR due diligence).
Debt – Gunnercooke, Georgina Tripp (legal).