Mobeus invests £8.4m in T&G MBO

Kenny Wastell
22 August 2018

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Mobeus Equity Partners has invested ТЃ8.4m in the management buyout of UK-based financial protection insurance company Travel & General (T&G).

Under its new ownership structure, T&G will look to expand into new areas of surety, including bonds for the construction industry.

The deal is the seventh investment made from the firm's maiden institutionally backed fund, which held a final close on £166m in August 2016. It brings the total amount of capital deployed from the vehicle to £63m.

The GP – which has historically focused on the management of VCT funds – launched the new vehicle early in 2016 shortly after UK regulatory changes were introduced limiting the types of deals permissible to VCT funds.

Christian Young, formerly of AA and Aon, will take on the role of chairperson at T&G following completion of the transaction, while Mobeus partner Chris Price will also take a seat on the board.

Private lender Triple Point provided a £3m senior debt package to support the transaction.

European private equity activity in the insurance space has ramped up in the past two years, as was recently reported by Unquote, with deals in the sector in July 2018 alone reaching nearly €3.2bn in estimated aggregate value – setting a post-crisis record.

T&G has previously received private equity backing, with 3i and Dunedin supporting a £5m management buyout in 1994.

Company
Founded in 1984, London-headquartered T&G provides financial protection insurance to the travel industry through surety bonds. The business operates as a managing general agent, with Hiscox providing underwriting authority and acting as the primary insurer.

People
Mobeus Equity Partners – Chris Price (partner); Freddie Bacon (investment manager).
Travel & General – Richard Watson (managing director); Richard Tillett (underwriting director).

Advisers
Equity – WK Corporate Finance (financial due diligence); CIL (commercial due diligence); Mazars (operational due diligence); Osborne Clarke (legal).