GCP-backed Iglu.com acquires Planet Cruise

Ellie Pullen
03 June 2013

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Growth Capital Partners (GCP) has backed the acquisition of Planet Cruise by its portfolio company Iglu.com.

The acquisition by Wimbledon-based online ski and cruise agent Iglu.com will apparently make it the largest independent cruise agent in the UK. The combined turnover of the two companies sits at around £100m.

GCP first invested in Iglu.com last May, in a secondary buyout worth £19m that saw the company's management team invest £4m. GCP provided £15m in blended equity and debt in return for a significant minority stake.

The firm bought the company from Mobeus Equity Partners, which acquired Iglu.com in 2009 as part of a £4.3m secondary buyout alongside management. Like GCP, Mobeus provided both debt and equity for Iglu.com and its backing allowed previous investors Barclays Ventures and Geocapital Partners to fully exit the company. Upon its exit, Mobeus realised an IRR of 70% and a 2.5x multiple of its original investment.

GCP typically invests in UK-based SMEs with an enterprise value of £10-50m as part of an MBO or SBO, but also provides expansion capital. The firm usually invests with blended equity and debt. Recent deals include a £13m investment in Scopus Engineering and the £13m SBO of Fishawack from YFM Partners, both of which took place in March.

Company
Planet Cruise was founded in 2005 and is based in Portsmouth. The company employs 75 staff and is expecting a turnover of £38m for the year ending in August.

Planet Cruise is an online and TV cruise retailer that showcases its services on the Ideal World Shopping Channel, a slot that it acquired in 2008.

People
Husband and wife Gary and Jenny West are co-founders of Planet Cruise. Gary West is the company's managing director, while Jenny West acts as its HR director. Both will take up senior roles in the new combined business.

Richard Downs is the CEO of Iglu.com. Simon Jobson is a partner at GCP and worked on the deal alongside investment manager Alexander Thomson and partner James Blake.

Advisers
Acquirer – Osborne Clarke, Alisdair Livingstone, Alison Johnson, Hugh Jones, Daniel Barnhouse, Michael Bell (Legal); White Hart Associates, Chris Photi (Financial due diligence).
Company – BDO, Andrew Lock, Craig Hewitt-Dutton (Corporate finance); Shoosmiths, Sean Wright, Lisa Sigalet (Legal).