Charles Russell Speechlys advises on the sale of Small World
Charles Russell Speechlys has advised the institutional and management shareholders of Small World Financial Services Group Limited, a leading multi-channel cross-border payment service provider, on the sale of Small World to European private equity firm, Equistone.
Small World’s technology-driven platform allows customers to make cross-border payments via its physical network of over 6,000 third-party send-side agents and 80 branches. With millions of customers worldwide, Small World currently employs c.680 people across 16 countries and generates revenues in excess of £110m.
The selling shareholders of Small World include long-standing private equity client FPE Capital (“FPE”), who are expected to see a 3x return on the sale when completion takes place following regulatory approvals, expected in late 2018.
Partner, Malcolm MacDougall, commented: “Having advised the Company for the last 10 years, we were delighted to work with the management team, FPE Capital and all shareholders in relation to the sale. The sale demonstrates a great start to the year for FPE, being the third 2018 exit that we have advised on, which included the realisation of another payments investment, Creditcall for a 4.2x return. This deal also adds to our wealth of experience in the TMT and fintech sectors in particular.”
"We continue to be impressed by the level of service and depth of expertise."
Dan Walker, Partner at FPE Capital commented: "Malcolm and the Charles Russell Speechlys team managed this transaction, which included multiple bidders for a business operating globally and within numerous regulatory environments, extremely smoothly. We continue to be impressed by the level of service and depth of expertise."
Nick Day, CEO of Small World commented: “FPE and MMC have been valued shareholders as Small World has continued to evolve. Our new partnership with Equistone will help accelerate the achievement of our goals and provide the funding to drive growth. We believe we are well-positioned to grow and are continuing to extend our multi-channel service proposition into new territories, as well as pursuing bolt-on acquisitions and launching new payment corridors.”
The Charles Russell Speechlys core team comprised Corporate Partner and Head of Private Equity Malcolm MacDougall, Corporate Partner Paul Arathoon, Corporate associates Lucy Thorpe, Hannah Dawson and Dafni Loizou and members of the firm’s Corporate Tax and Banking & Finance teams.