Moore Kingston Smith advises on MBO of CRC Group backed by Coniston Capital
Moore Kingston Smith has advised CRC Group, a tech-enabled B2B consultancy, on its management buy-out backed by Coniston Capital, whose maiden fund has invested in three high-growth businesses in the past year.
CRC Group, with operations in the US and UK, advises on client relationships in the marketing services sector working with a number of leading agencies. They also advise clients in the B2B packaging and wider manufacturing markets. Through CRC Group’s core product, The Referral Rating, CRC Group allows its clients to track and improve their customer relationships, helping to reduce churn and increase opportunities for growth.
CRC Group was introduced to Coniston Capital in 2021 and the shareholders and management team decided to explore the option of accelerating the development of the group and facilitating its growth ambitions. Having worked with Moore Kingston Smith since 2008, the shareholders and management team discussed the opportunity with Moore Kingston Smith’s corporate finance team to take advantage of their knowledge of private equity buy-outs and the marketing services sector.
Paul Cowan, co-founder at CRC, commented: “There were a number of complexities to our transaction – we have operations in the US and UK which we were bringing together under one umbrella company (with shareholders in both jurisdictions), there were personal and corporate tax considerations, we were refining our business plan and bringing on board a new investor in Coniston. It was a pleasure to work with the wider Moore Kingston Smith team who were on hand when we needed them and understood what was required to help us through this process. Their advice was invaluable and we are excited about the future.”
The transaction was Coniston Capital’s third since completing its own fundraising in March 2022. The fund uses its committed capital to focus on a funding gap within the UK private equity market by investing up to £5 million in UK SMEs with profits greater than £250,000.
George Tsangarides, Partner at Coniston Capital, commented: “Moore Kingston Smith have had a long relationship with CRC, understood the shareholder relationships and recognised this as the type of opportunity we look for. We’re very grateful for John and Paul’s help in structuring and negotiating this deal and we are excited to be a part of the next stage in CRC’s growth journey.”
Moore Kingston Smith’s corporate finance partner, John Cowie, said: “CRC Group has an ambitious international growth plan and the Coniston team shares that vision. They saw the potential in CRC’s management team and this investment will underpin an exciting future for the business. We’re delighted to have been involved in making it happen.”
Corporate Finance partners John Cowie and Paul Winterflood worked alongside Kat Stone and Henry Waugh as they advised CRC Group’s shareholders and management team in modelling, negotiating and managing the transaction process through to completion. Melanie Reed, Thomas Acland and Amy Tilley from the M&A tax team provided extensive tax and structuring advice to the CRC Group and its shareholders and management team throughout the process.