Lonsdale sells Charles Cameron to Penta's Socium Group

Lonsdale said it would reap a 2.5x multiple on its investment, which was made in early 2019. Assuming no value was previously realised, this would equate to an IRR in the region of 50%.

Lonsdale acquired a majority stake in the mortgage broker from its founders in January 2019. The transaction was the eighth primary deal secured by Lonsdale's GBP 110m debut buyout fund, which makes equity commitments of GBP 10m-15m.

The GP said that CC&A has undergone rapid growth since the 2019 deal, with annual revenue increasing from GBP 9m to GBP 13m during Lonsdale's ownership.

This is the third exit that Lonsdale has announced this year and the second from its current fund, which closed in April 2016 at GBP 110 million. The GP notably sold its holding in superyacht company GYG through a placing on the AIM stock exchange, reaping a return of 3x money and an IRR of 75%.

In 2019, Penta Capital backed Mary-Anne McIntyre, the former CEO of Openwork, to carry out a buy-and-build in the UK Independent Financial Advice market. According to Penta, the plan involves building an IFA platform by deploying GBP 60m in equity out of total funding in excess of GBP 160m to acquire IFA businesses across the UK.

Company
Founded in 2004, CC&A offers mortgage advice services; it also provides financial education and support employees' financial wellbeing in partnership with around 200 companies in the UK. Its network counts 90 mortgage and protection advisers, completing more than 700 mortgages every month. In the 12 months to April 2021, CC&A completed in excess of GBP 3.1bn in mortgages for its clients, the company said in a statement.

People
Lonsdale Capital Partners - David Gasparro (partner).

Advisers
Vendor - Hines Associates (M&A); Burness Paull (legal).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Portfolio management
• UK / Ireland
• Financials
• Trade sale
• Lonsdale Capital Partners
• Build-up
• Penta Capital Partners