Leonard Curtis sells a majority stake to new investors

Preston-based Leonard Curtis has announced the sale of a majority stake in its business to Pollen Street Capital, a fast-growing private capital asset manager.

Leonard Curtis has over 30 years’ experience in providing restructuring, legal, funding, M&A advisory and business services to SMEs and corporates throughout the UK and offshore. 

Details of the sum of the investment are undisclosed.

Arete Capital Partners, has announced the  sale of its significant stake in Leonard Curtis Group. The deal sees Pollen Street acquire a majority stake, marks a major exit for Arete since its investment in Leonard Curtis in August 2021 and delivers a 3.2x gross return for its investors.

The transaction, which sees Pollen Street acquire a majority stake, marks a major exit for Arete since its investment in LC in August 2021 and delivers a 3.2x gross return for its investors.

The business has built a trusted brand, strong national footprint and deep sector expertise, as it has expanded rapidly through organic growth, geographical expansion and acquisitions, resulting in headcount increasing to over 330 employees across 30 offices.

The business has a well-established referral community throughout the business services industry, including its own Lifecycle network, which enables over 3,000 regional accountancy practices to help their clients by accessing support, advice and solutions to financial and operational issues at every stage of their clients’ business lifecycle.

The group will continue to be led by current chief executive Dan Booth and Pollen Street’s investment will accelerate growth across the platform through product expansion, technology and M&A.

Pollen Street was supported by Manchester-headquartered private credit investor TDC, and the deal will see the successful exit for family investment office Arete Capital Partners and SVELLA Plc, who took a significant stake in August 2021.

Jonathan Guest, investment director at Pollen Street, said:  "Leonard Curtis is a high-quality business with a proven model, experienced leadership, and has demonstrated strong organic growth in the UK and offshore. “

“We are proud of our track record of supporting fast-growing players in the financial and business services ecosystems and are looking forward to partnering with the team for the next stage of Leonard Curtis’s growth, as it diversifies and scales organically, and further consolidates the fragmented UK professional services market.”

Dan Booth, Leonard Curtis chief executive, said: “The partnership and investment from Pollen Street Capital, together with support from TDC, will allow the business to move forward and better execute our plans to grow and develop the group.”

 “We have our sights on building a business that is sustainable for many years to come and to represent something that we can all be proud to be a part of.

 “None of this would be possible without the hard work, commitment and brilliance of our people.  

"We are building something very special here, and I truly hope we all continue this journey together to be better every day.  In years to come, we all want to be able to look back and know we played a positive part.”

Simon Lord, partner at Arete Capital Partners, said: "Our partnership with CEO Dan Booth and the entire Leonard Curtis team has been incredibly rewarding.

"This deal represents a strong return for our investors and a real case study for the Arete model.

"Arete sourced, led and structured the deal off-market and provided support that went far beyond just capital.

"The team at Arete has significant professional services experience that we utilised when working with management on key operational initiatives and strategic acquisitions to build the business into the market leader it is today.

"We helped prepare the platform for its next chapter and are delighted to see a specialist investor like Pollen Street recognise the value created.

"We are immensely proud of what we have achieved together and wish the team and the new ownership of Leonard Curtis every success for the future."

Gary Davison, managing partner at TDC, added: “Leonard Curtis is a true Manchester success story, having expanded its presence across the UK and into new service lines. Together with Pollen Street, this deal will help to further accelerate this growth, with a strong management team in place to deliver on some ambitious strategic plans."

Advisors for Leonard Curtis included KPMG Corporate Finance, Hill Dickinson on legals, PwC on tax, BDO on financial due diligence and Graph on commercial due diligence.