RJD buys Harrington Brooks from Inflexion

Amy King
16 July 2012

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RJD Partners has backed the MBO of British debt management firm Harrington Brooks from Inflexion Private Equity.

The exit saw Inflexion reaping a return multiple of more than 3.1x.

The company's chief executive Matthew Cheetham and finance director Terry Sweeney have increased their stakes in the business.

The deal matches RJD's history of investing in the financial services sector.

Debt
PNC Business Credit provided debt to support the transaction.

Previous funding
In 2005, Inflexion acquired Harrington Brooks (then All Clear Finance), investing £6.3m in exchange for a minority stake. The remaining shares were held by management and other private stakeholders.

Royal Bank of Scotland provided £5m of debt in the form of a revolving credit facility.

Company
Founded in 1998 and based in Sale, Harrington Brooks began as a debt management plan provider. The firm now offers debt advice, management plans and related non-lending services including claims management to indebted individuals.

The firm has around 37,000 customers, 380 employees and an annual turnover of more than £29m.

People
John Dillon, Alex Hay and Richard Court worked on this transaction for RJD. Dillon and Hay will join the board of Harrington Brooks. Tim Smallbone, partner of Inflexion Private Equity, led the deal for the vendor. Matthew Cheetham is CEO of Harrington Brooks.

Advisers
Acquirer – Clearwater Corporate Finance, Mike Reeves (Corporate finance); Eversheds, Mark Spinner (Legal); Grant Thornton, Mo Merali (Financial due diligence, tax); KPMG, John Hughes (Financial & commercial due diligence); Gallagher Heath, George Minoprio (Insurance due diligence); Deloitte, Liz Ballinger (Corporate finance); The Quinn Partnership, Paul Quinn (Management due diligence).
Vendor – Dow Schofield Watts, Mark Watts (Corporate finance); Cobbetts, Sean Fitzgerald (Legal).
Management – DLA Piper, James Kerrigan (Legal); KPMG, Chris Belsham (Corporate finance).