Palatine sells TTC Group to management

Eliza Punshi
20 May 2021

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Palatine Private Equity has sold its stake in TTC Group, the driver risk management and road safety training provider, to its management team backed by debt provider Pricoa Private Capital.

Unquote sister publication Mergermarket reported at the beginning of 2021 that the company was being marketed based on EBITDA of around £7-8m, but that this figure included Covid-19-related adjustments, and that the EBITDA for December 2020 was closer to £4m.

Mergermarket reported that TTC was negatively affected by the lockdowns during the pandemic.

Palatine's exit comes four years after it invested in TTC for an undisclosed amount in July 2017 via Palatine Private Equity Fund III. During this period, the company grew its turnover from around £27m to more than £40m through a "digitalisation programme and successful buy-and-build strategy, and adding new service lines to its rapidly growing corporate business", the divestor said in a statement.

Santander is providing TTC with a revolving credit facility to support its strategic growth plan.

Company
Founded in 1993 and based in Telford, TTC is a provider of road safety courses for drivers and cyclists. It provides a range of technology-enabled driver risk management, compliance and training services to 2,800 corporate clients, including major vehicle leasing providers and fleet operators, as well as delivering national speed awareness training courses on behalf of 14 police forces.

The company generates £40m in sales.

People
TTC Group – Jim Kirkwood (CEO).
Palatine Private Equity – Richard Thomas (senior investment director).
Pricoa Private Capital – Ed Barker (senior vice-president).

Advisers
Vendor – GCA Altium (financial due diligence); Gateley (legal).
Equity – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (legal).
Company – Liberty Corporate Finance (M&A); Osborne Clarke (legal).