Bishopsgate Corporate Finance is pleased to announce that it advised the shareholders of Hawkins Electrical on its recent sale to RSK. Hawkins Electrical is a specialist nationwide electrical service to the UK holiday and mobile home industry and offers bespoke design and installation, product supply and manufacture, inspection and maintenance, mandatory testing and remedial works.

Skegness based Hawkins Electrical was founded in 1967 and its team of 74 includes qualified electrical engineers along with electrical apprentices and a skilled, experienced management team. It has built its reputation on designing and installing private electrical distribution networks and providing quality products to the holiday and mobile home park industry, with a small element of works in the marina marketplace.

Managing Director of Hawkins, Alex Farrow, who will continue to lead the business, said: “Our business has been built on a proud tradition of strong growth and ethics and we believe that joining the RSK Group will provide an excellent foundation to continue this ambitious trajectory. RSK offers considerable opportunities for expansion into new markets and being part of such a significant group is great for staff development and retention, which is very important to our entire team.”

RSK is a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions. It has a family of over 175 environmental, engineering and technical services businesses who work together to provide practical solutions to the challenges faced by society. They operate in most sectors of the economy, including many of those most critical to future global sustainability, such as water, energy, food and drink, infrastructure, urban development, mining and waste.

Alan Ryder, RSK Group Chief Executive Officer comments on the acquisition: “Hawkins Electrical has an enviable reputation of innovation and client service – one of its customers has had a relationship with the business for 52 years – and this close alignment with RSK’s ethos is why we are proud to welcome the company to our group. Hawkins has earned a reputation that is unrivalled in the industry, servicing both the small and large sites with national holiday park operators.”

Bishopsgate Corporate Finance were lead advisers to the shareholders:

Sam Holmes, Manager at Bishopsgate Corporate Finance said: “It was a privilege to advise the shareholders of Hawkins Electrical and we wish the management team all the best. The company is the market leader in the UK and the transaction will support the company’s next stage of growth. This is a great example of our ability to deliver successful outcomes for owners of specialist B2B service providers.”

Other sell side advisers included Sills & Betteridge (legals) and Duncan & Toplis (accounting and tax).

Opals provides telecommunications infrastructure services across all disciplines of digital communications networks, from its headquarters in Peterborough. The company particularly brings a wealth of specialist fibre experience to Private Equity backed OCU, helping to support Instalcom (an OCU Group subsidiary) as it develops and expands its fast-growing telecoms offering across the South and in particular the East of England.

About OCU Group:

OCU Group is an innovative service provider in the Utilities Industry; operating on a national scale.  The Company delivers a wide range of customer-focused business solutions throughout the UK and Ireland, working with a large blue-chip client base in all utility areas including; Power, Telecoms, Water, Oil & Gas, Rail and Directional Drilling.

On the 4^th August 2022, OCU was acquired by Triton Partners, one of Europe’s leading investment firms.  Triton was founded in 1997, with a belief in engaging with boards, manager and employees to build better businesses, primarily in Northern Europe.

Instalcom is the Southern Delivery trading division within OCU and is a fast-growing organisation that prides itself on being innovative utility engineering experts that always provide an exceptional level of service for our clients and the millions of customers associated with them.

About Triton:

Since its establishment in 1997, Triton has sponsored ten funds, focusing on businesses in the industrial tech, services, consumer, and healthcare sectors. Triton invests in and supports the positive development of medium-sized businesses headquartered in Europe.

Triton seeks to contribute to the building of better businesses for the longer term. Triton and its executives wish to be agents of positive change towards sustainable operational improvement and growth.

The companies currently in Triton’s portfolio have combined sales of around EUR 18.1 billion and employ around 104,000 employees.

About Opals Group:

Opals started trading in 2012 and has grown within the industry to become an established and leading network infrastructure services company, offering an extensive range of complimentary services covering civil engineering, fibre optics and traffic management.

Working with network operators to design, build, maintain and repair full fibre network infrastructure, Opals’ customer base includes Upp, Netomnia and Openreach where they provide a total delivery solution from their East of England head-office in Peterborough.

Bishopsgate further demonstrates its capabilities in the technology and software sector by successfully advising supply chain EDI software provider Data Interchange on the sale to US based Epicor

For over 30 years Data Interchange has been developing pioneering technology for data communication. The Company now employs over 100 EDI specialists across Europe generating a turnover of £9m with high levels of SaaS revenue. The Company has a blue chip customer base and works with some of the biggest brands in the world.

Data Interchange’s B2B integration software solutions – including the company’s DiNet global EDI Network, Odex B2B communications platform, Darwin order processing solution, and XE EDI mapping tool – will help Epicor customers streamline their supply chain strategies, providing a single-source of truth to more closely manage supplier relationships, automate business processes, and plan for changing business needs. That includes support for European market protocols and standards such as OFTP2, EDIFACT, VDA, TRADACOMS and PEPPOL.

Epicor is a business software company owned by Private Equity House – Clayton, Dubilier & Rice that is based in Austin, Texas. Epicor provides enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM) and human capital management (HCM) software to business customers in the manufacturing, distribution, lumber/building materials, retail and automobile verticals globally.

The Data Interchange acquisition expands the reach of Epicor in European markets and adds to the company’s portfolio of B2B integration technologies, empowering customers to connect businesses and trading partners, increase efficiency, and drive value in the supply chain.

Bishopsgate is delighted to announce the sale of Edtech provider Pellcomp to Advanced Software further demonstrating their deep sector knowledge across the software and Edtech industries.

Pellcomp software is the market leading Case Management System (CMS) and Learning Management System (LMS) software provider to 500 UK training and employability providers. Pellcomp’s PICS platform supports the end-to-end onboarding, employer engagement, administration, delivery and management of ESFA funded and commercially delivered learning programs and provides case management for Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) employability contracts.

Advanced Software is the third largest software and services company in the UK and is owned by Private Equity firms Vista and BC Partners. Following several recent acquisitions in the education industry of digital learning provider, Smart Apprentices and functional skills provider, bksb, the acquisition of Pellcomp will see Advanced Education further extend its breadth of solutions into the education sector supporting the rapid acceleration of digital learning that prioritise the learner experience for colleges, employers and private training providers.

Gordon Wilson, CEO of Advanced comments: “We are currently seeing a rapid adoption of digital learning models with learners increasingly seeing them as more convenient and valuable compared to traditional classroom learning. This combined with personalised learning, collaborative models and a growth in gamification is transforming the sector. Skills and training providers are seeking out technology solutions to gain greater control and transparency of their learners’ progress and attainment as well as looking for tighter budgetary, funding and compliance management. This acquisition will enable Advanced Education to offer a full 360 degree learning and skills platform giving employers, colleges and private training providers an intuitive learning and skills management solution.”

The acquisition reinforces Advanced’s ambition and determined growth trajectory to become the UK’s best software and services provider.

Bishopsgate has advised the Shareholders of Bowman Stores, a leading cold storage and logistics business on the £74m cross-border sale to Americold Realty Trust.

This represents another complex cross border deal for the Bishopsgate team.

Bowman Stores operate from a single campus located in Spalding, Lincolnshire. This campus aggregates 10 million cubic feet with four buildable acres of land to support additional development.

Bishopsgate Corporate Finance and Browne Jacobson have successfully advised the shareholders of West Midlands based Focus Multimedia Limited (trading as Fanatical) on the sale of the business to US based Fandom Inc, backed by private equity firm TPG for an undisclosed sum.

Fanatical are a leading gaming e-commerce business established in 2012 by Focus Multimedia Limited in Rugeley (having been founded in 1995 as a distributor of PC CD-ROM software). Their on-line store has fast become a video gaming lover’s dream, supplying digital games, ebooks, and gaming products such as video game keys (Steam and Uplay) directly to consumers’ PC’s in just a couple of clicks. To date, the site has sold over 80 million gaming keys to customers in 200+ countries around the globe and with cutting edge technology and design.

San Francisco based Fandom Inc (previously known as Wikia) was founded in 1995 and is considered the world’s largest fan platform with more than 330 million monthly users. They specialise in content around gaming, comic books, movies and TV shows.

Craig Johnson, co-founder and Managing Director of Fanatical commented:

“Everyone here at Fanatical is thrilled to become part of the Fandom family. The synergies between our two companies are undeniable and the opportunities that this acquisition presents are both incredibly exciting and vast.

“We felt fully supported by our advisory teams – their joined-up approach, hard work and dedication ensured the transaction was a smooth one. We really appreciate all they did in successfully getting the deal done and can’t praise them enough.”

James McBain Allan, Partner at Bishopsgate Corporate Finance who provided lead advisory services to Fanatical said:

“This is yet another cross-border deal, advised by Bishopsgate, of a Midlands business which really demonstrates Bishopsgate’s global reach and expertise. This was a complex deal that marks an exciting stage for the Fanatical – Fandom team and we are thrilled to have been part of it.”

The Browne Jacobson team was led by corporate finance partner Paul McCannah who added:

“We are delighted to have delivered a successful outcome for the Fanatical Team on a deal that is testament to the strength and heritage of the gaming sector in the Midlands.

“This latest successful cross-border transaction has enabled us to further demonstrate the strength of our specialist corporate finance expertise with tech and gaming sector insight on a complex and time critical deal.”

Bishopsgate is proud to announce the successful sale of leading education software provider My School Portal to The Access Group.

The Access Group, a leading business solutions and software provider for mid-sized organisations, today announced the acquisition of My School Portal, the UK’s leading provider of parent engagement software to the independent education sector.

My School Portal will be incorporated into The Access Group’s Education division, which delivers an industry leading education management suite that supports exceptional learning for over 8,000 learning institutions in the UK.

The addition of My School Portal to Access Education is the latest in a series of best-of-breed solutions that provide a fully integrated software service for education institutions in the UK.

Simon Baines, Managing Director of Access Education commented “The acquisition of My School Portal reinforces Access Education’s position as a leading UK provider of software solutions for education institutions. We are dedicated to supporting our clients through every school and parent interaction, offering end to end solutions that drive efficiency and improve their school’s operations.”

“With education leaders recognising the growing importance that technology plays as they recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, integrating a parent communication and engagement system into the Access portfolio creates an unrivalled efficiency proposition. Schools use My School Portal to bring information and separate services together and engage with parents. This drives more effective and efficient communication between schools and parents, creating more meaningful relationships and better educational outcomes for pupils.”

Adrian Brown, Founder at My School Portal added “The Access Group is recognised for its experience in accelerating product development, investing in customer success and providing software that gives their customers the freedom to provide outstanding education – all principles which My School Portal holds dear. We are looking forward to My School Portal continuing this journey with Access and becoming bigger and better. Each of our customers will be able to take advantage of a far-reaching suite of best-in-class solutions, delivered from a single supplier and we are excited that My School Portal will now be an integral part of such an effective technology portfolio.”

Simon Baines concluded, “Access Education’s strategy is to continue bringing new and innovative products to market and My School Portal is a natural fit within our expanding technology solutions. We believe there will be a particular benefit of integrating My School Portal into Access Workspace, which powers the tools that increase engagement and share information across all business functions. Adding the capability of My School Portal to our current product range will play an important role as Access Education continues to deliver the high levels of support and service that our customers have come to expect.”

The Bishop comments, “We are thrilled to have advised the Shareholders on their sale to a leading UK software consolidator. This deal further demonstrates our expertise and capability in achieving strategic valuations for our clients in the software and technology sectors across the UK. We wish Adrian and the rest of the My School Portal all the best in continuing to deliver exceptional outcomes for the education sector.”

Bishopsgate has advised on the investment into a leading children’s social care provider, CF Social Work (“CFSW”).

With a head office in Ipswich, CFSW provides high quality social work intervention and education services to assist busy Local Authorities and help children and young families avoid a lifetime of care and state intervention. CFSW has a growing reputation for its preventative services and operates in a fragmented market with Local Authorities under increasing pressure.

• CFSW has become a one-stop shop for its local authority clients providing both social work support and education services to children with specific needs.  Its services are innovative, highly regarded and desperately needed. Demand for CFSW’s services has increased as a result of the coronavirus and lockdown and the problems created by this pandemic are widespread and long term.

• CFSW is run by Ross Evans, a 36 year old former teacher.  Ross is dynamic, entrepreneurial and has a deep understanding of the market’s needs and he heads up the fast growing education division which was launched in October 2018.

• Jen Elliott, CEO of Education Personnel Management, will chair the business. Jen has extensive experience in the education sector working with local authorities and she has led two previous private equity exits.

The Company splits its service provision into four divisions:

Independent Social Work and Psychological Service – provides local authorities and family courts with a range of specific assessments designed to assess the needs of a child.  CFSW employs expert clinical psychologists and social workers with over 5 years’ experience to carry out these assessments which may be used as a preventative tool or as part of a plan to reintegrate and support families.

Reverse Residential Assessments – CFSW were the first to develop a Reverse Residential Assessment (“RRA”) programme where their independent social care workers provide assessments to local authorities or the courts whilst residing in the family setting.  This can be over a 6 week period and is designed to support and coach whilst assessing to maximise the chances of helping the family stay together.

Bespoke Education Division – launched in Oct 2018, the bespoke education service is designed to support young people with challenging behaviours and complex needs who are often on the edge of care and out of mainstream education.  CFSW provides a range of tuition and mentoring to reengage children with education.  6 of their children undertook and passed their GCSEs last year.  Five have gone on to college and 1 has found an apprenticeship.

Family Support and Youth Work Service – having been approached by local authority commissioners during the coronavirus lockdown, CFSW has just set up this new division to provide support to families and young people struggling to cope with daily life.  The demand for these types of services are so great that management believes this could become their largest division within the next 3 years.

Bishopsgate is thrilled to announce the completion of a cross-border technology transaction. The team at Bishopsgate provided lead advisory services including a full marketing process for the Shareholders of a leading technology business based in Guildford.

Virtual Recall is a leading developer of customer experience management and communications software and technology to the global animal health market and has been acquired by Zoetis Inc.

Virtual Recall was founded in 2012 by Charlie Barton and Jamie Crittall with the primary purpose of improving animal health and wellbeing.

Virtual Recall co-founder Jamie Crittall added: “As a company we’ve always been restless – constantly looking at new ways and developing new technologies in which we can drive animal health care”

“It is a very exciting new chapter for Virtual Recall, and fellow co-founder Charlie Barton and I are thrilled to continue at the helm.”

Jamie Brannan, Senior Vice President UK, Ireland and Nordics said: “This is an exciting opportunity for Zoetis to add a new solution for veterinarians with an innovative service that will support clinics in increasing their level of compliance, education and engagement at the pet owner level.

“As we expand our comprehensive offering across the continuum of care for veterinary clinics, Virtual Recall will enhance the level of pet owner services that can be offered to their pet owner customers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

“Our studies have shown that veterinary customers are keen to reduce administrative workload and find new ways to engage with pet owners. We believe that Virtual Recall will achieve that, helping to educate and improve pet owner compliance and adding financial benefits to the veterinary practice.

The Bishopsgate team comments “it is fantastic to deliver such a great result for the shareholders. We had the added complexity that the process was run remotely to an overseas listed acquiror, but it does show that M&A can function without face to face meetings and that there is still significant demand for assets based in the UK from the international community. We wish the shareholders and team all the best going forward.”