Hamilton Portfolio exits Global Expense

The company's staff also sold their 10% stake in the business for £1.4m. The GP told unquote" it decided to exit since it had received a satisfactory offer from Concur, which was looking to internationalise its US operations. The GP also felt it was the right time to move on as the company's technology was beginning to leap forward. No financial advisers were involved in the sale.

Previous funding
Hamilton Porfolio first invested in Global Expense when it was still a start-up ten years ago. The GP invested a total of £4m in the business, including £1.6m of fresh equity over the holding period. Debt was kept at a minimum throughout holding.

Global Expense benefitted from an outsourcing trend in expense handling by big companies, and from its niche positioning. The company was growing slowly in the first years, while developing its systems, and only started to make money after about six years, the GP said. However, by 2012 the business achieved a turnover of £10m with an EBITDA of £500,000.

The GP was particularly involved in the management and operation of the business, and increased staff numbers while avoiding redundancies, it said. Hamilton also relocated some of the company's European staff and processing facilities to Kent following its takeover of the business.

Company
Global Expense manages the expenses process for companies including British Airways, Sainsbury's, Fujitsu and Asda. The business is headquartered in London and has a further processing centre in Kent. It currently employs more than 60 staff.

People
John Boyle is the founder of Hamilton Portfolio. 

Advisers
Vendor - HBJ Gately, Alison Gilson (Legal). 

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