Placement agent Amala Partners to close later this year

The firm is currently in the process of finishing various assignments and will wind down over the next six to nine months, founder Ian Simpson told unquote”. Part of the staff left the firm at the end of 2016 and Amala currently operates with two full-time team members, besides Simpson and partner Simone Brands. Thomas Sparrow is a director at the company with a specific focus on the finance and operations functions, and Kristina Sekula is its roadshow manager, and joined the company in May last year.

Among those who left Amala at the end of 2016 and went onto other projects is Christina Keogh, the former Altius senior associate who had joined Amala in late 2013 and left in November to become partner and co-owner of the Warner Edwards Distillery.

Based on the most recently available public information, Amala posted a £2.5m turnover in the year ending March 2016 with an operating profit of around £1m – both figures being roughly similar to the previous year’s performance.

Simpson cited the potential repercussions of a hard Brexit scenario that would see Britain leaving the single market as one of the factors that persuaded him to call it a day: "Passporting is very important for us. Based on the latest political developments, it is likely we would need at least one office in continental Europe in addition to our UK base in order to keep working for our clients – the cost involved would make it unsustainable for us."

Simpson pointed to a lack of scalability, borne of the boutique nature of the business, as a reason not to pursue a potential expansion: "Amala never split the origination and distribution parts of the business into two different teams, as we felt combining the two would enable us to be better advisers and better advocates for our clients. This is a great model, but by nature is it very difficult to scale and do more than two-three placements a year, as you are lacking that dedicated team actively chasing new business."

Having mulled options over the 2016 holidays, Simpson ultimately decided the timing was right to wind down over 2017, as the firm would be near the finish line for its three main clients – rather than being mid-fundraise with a client when the post-Brexit situation becomes clearer, he said.

Amala was most recently advising Danish lower-mid-market private equity firm Maj Invest for its fifth fundraise – the GP held a €215m first close in November and is expected to wrap up its effort this month. Another client, UK mid-market outfit August Equity, is understood to be on track to hit the hard-cap for its fourth fund in March. Amala has also been working on the latest fund managed by consumer-focused investor Piper Private Equity, with a final close expected in the first half of 2017.

Clients advised by Amala in the past include Graphite Capital, Exponent Private Equity and Quadriga Capital.

Simpson told unquote" he expects to keep advising long-standing clients on an ad hoc basis in the future: "I have been an agent for 29 years and to be able to keep working with people I have known for almost that entire amount of time is a great thing," he said. Simone Brands' future plans remain unknown at this stage.

Simpson founded Amala in 2008, having previously co-founded boutique placement firm Helix Associates alongside John Hess and Charles Cecil in 1993. Investment bank Jefferies ultimately acquired Helix in 2005, leading Simpson to launch Amala three years later.

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• Advisory
• August Equity LLP
• Piper Private Equity