Prism Help Expand Cathelco’s Offering

Prism Corporate Broking has facilitated the sale of Seafresh Desalinators to leading seawater and pipework anti-fouling systems company Cathelco.  The sale instantly expands Cathelcos’ current product portfolio adding Seafresh’s range of specialist ‘watermakers’.

Both companies already have a strong presence within the luxury yacht market, yet Cathelco also install their products hull corrosion protection systems in commercial vessels. 

Managing Director of Cathelco, Justin Salisbury comments, “We believe that there is excellent potential for the sale of desalinators in both the luxury yacht and commercial vessel market worldwide, particularly with the advantages of our well-established network of sales agents.”

Seafresh Desalinators was established in the 1980s by Peter Snare who developed a range of watermakers based on the reverse osmosis principle for turning seawater into potable water.  The product range proved popular within the luxury yacht, small vessel and military sectors, and the business thrived on its technical excellence, gaining customers throughout the UK. The company was also highly rated in the Yachting World ARC Gear Test, winning the Best Desalinator Award for four consecutive years from 2002.  Yet, they simply did not have the resource to market the products effectively to a wider international market.

Having regarded the marine sector as one of their specialisms for a number of years, Prism Corporate Broking were aware of Cathelco and identified them as a potential acquirer of Seafresh. After Prism’s initial approach the sale quickly progressed.  Peter Watson, Managing Director of Prism adds, “I believe Cathelco and Seafresh are the perfect match.  Cathelco has the size, strength and sales network to take the unique Seafresh products to the next stage, by expanding their market to reach the potential overseas.  This is an exciting time and I look forward to seeing how things development.”    

Cathelco was formed in 1956 in Chesterfield and grew on the strength of its seawater pipework anti-fouling systems which are based on the electrolytic principle. In early 1990s, the company diversified into the production of impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems to protect ship’s hulls against corrosion. In 1995, the move into the corrosion protection market was boosted by the acquisition of Corrintec Ltd who were already well established in the field.

With a record of over 20,000 installations, Cathelco systems are now sold into the commercial, cruise, military and offshore markets via an international network of agents. In 2009, the company moved into new purpose built premises in Chesterfield where it employs a workforce of over 90 people.

Another Successful Seminar: Maximise the Value of Your ICT Business

On 19th May 2010, we held another successful seminar entitled ‘Maximise the Value of your ICT Business’ at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters in the City.

Specifically for owners/managers of ICT businesses and associated intermediaries, the aim of the seminar was to advise delegates on how to maximise the value of their business, whether they were planning to sell or not.  It also included an overview of the 6 essential elements to make businesses more valuable and attractive to others.  Plus, the former owner of a successful ICT business sold by Prism gave an honest insight into his experiences and the lessons learnt throughout the selling process.

The morning proved a great success and we would like to thank all who attended.

Below are some comments we received:

• “Interesting session, good speakers.”
• “Good to hear such a grounded and pragmatic approach to the topics.”
• “Very professional seminar.”

If you were unable to make this event or would like to be kept informed of similar future events, please let us know by emailing events@prismcorporatebroking.com

FMI Sold to Our IT Department

The business of IT & telecommunications services company FMI Ltd, has been sold to Our IT Department Ltd in an asset deal.

Established in 1983, FMI rapidly gained status with many major vendors, gaining high level authorisation with Microsoft Sage, Business Objects and partnering with many other acclaimed software and hardware suppliers.  Following the sale of the Business Services Division in 2007, the owner Nicholas Pawson decided to seek to dispose of the remaining IT infrastructure and support Division to allow him to concentrate on a number of other business interests.

Prism Corporate Broking was engaged to identify potential acquirers and Our IT Department Ltd was duly shortlisted.  The synergies between the two companies were strong; both had the desire to embrace emerging technology to create valuable and unique solutions for their varied yet impressive client base, in addition to having highly knowledgeable and experienced staff. 

Peter Watson, managing director of Prism Corporate Broking comments, “We came across FMI whilst selling another IT business and were delighted to be able to assist in their own sale.  We initially put in an interim MD to help manage and implement some internal restructuring. This facilitated a quicker and much smoother sales process – within 3 months of appointment.  Their team are a major asset to the company and will be retained by the company at their central London offices.” 

Nicholas Pawson, chairman of FMI adds, “I am confident that Our IT Department will take FMI to the next business level. They have sufficient technical ability to integrate our proven IT and telecommunications solutions into their own.  The enlarged business will offer greater opportunities to the combined team, and strengthen the business offering to existing and new clients.”

Prism Help Maximise the Value of ICT Businesses

Specialists in providing extensive support and advice on all aspects of buying and selling businesses, including exit readiness planning, Prism Corporate Broking, are holding a FREE ½ day seminar for ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) professionals to help maximise the value of their businesses.

The event is to be held on 19^th May 2010 at the The Honourable Artillery Company, London EC1.  Aimed at business owner/managers, whether planning to sell their ICT business or those that could just benefit from maximising the value of their business, the half day seminar is completely FREE and commences at 9.15am.

The benefits to delegates include gaining an understanding of the 6 essential elements needed to transform their future, by building value – and thereby attractiveness to potential acquirers. The event is also likely to be of interest to those considering acquisitions as it gives an insight into what is of value to an acquirer and how valuations are made. In addition, a former CEO of a successful ICT business will provide priceless advice from his experience of going through the business sales process himself.

For full details of the event see www.prismcorporatebroking.com/events or call 01638 743 123.

M&A Activity in the ICT Sector - March 2010

In terms of recent activity, the major players have continued to swallow up smaller technology companies. Among these is Google continuing its current spending spree by acquiring PicNik, the on-line photo editing company and DocVerse, a software company. These take Google’s acquisition tally to eight since September last year. Interestingly DocVerse was set up by two veteran Microsoft employees to create web-based collaboration tools allowing Microsoft users to share documents on-line. It is directly competing with Microsoft who are yet to launch a similar service.

M&A Activity in the ICT Sector - February 2010

It’s finally here – we are officially out of recession! So, are things looking up and have we turned the corner? Well the UK ICT sector is still the largest in Europe (with over one million people employed and contributing an enormous 10% of UK GDP) yet according to UK Trade & Investment it is still expected to grow to over £29 billion by 2012.  Furthermore, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reports that at least €15 billion of announced deals are set to complete in the first quarter of 2010. Within the UK, the sector bottom line profitability has been managed effectively for many in 2009, yet achieving high growth has proved more challenging, therefore acquisitions are likely to be an integral part of most corporate growth stories in the foreseeable future.

PwC have also highlighted five ‘hot spots’ for 2010 – Financial Technology, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Convergence, Healthcare Software and IT Services (SITS) and Security Solutions.

We have seen a definite increase in activity, with greater competition for sale mandates. This perhaps reflects the growing realisation that cash in the bank could be put to much better work.

M&A Activity in the ICT Sector - January 2010

Inevitably as we start the year (and decade) we wonder what is in stall for the sector during the forthcoming year. (Not sure many sane people would try to predict where we will be in this sector in a decade – and we are certainly not going to try!)

Prism Sell Security Firm

Successful network and end point security specialists Metadigm Limited has been sold to a management buy in team.  The sale, facilitated by Prism, allows the Managing Director to pursue other ventues.

The new owners, Nick Scot and Jason Simper, formed Blend IT Group as a vehicle to acquire Metadigm, they bring with them a wealth of experience and business expertise and secure the future of the company, where it is business as usual. 

Metadigm was established in 1989 by Alan McRae, offering technical consulting during initial security solution specification and throughout installation, in addition to providing on-going support and management for remote users across the globe. Their success grew over the years having set up valued partnerships with many high profile vendors such as Check Point, Fortinet, Riverbed and Aladdin.

As the success of Metadigm continued to grow, Alan made the decision to sell and in February 2009, he enlisted Prism Corporate Broking to assess his options. By the end of October 2009, the sale was complete.  

For full details please download our case study.

Prism Appoint New Chairman

We have appointed a new and highly experienced non-executive Chairman to our team.

Robert Ferguson, a Chartered Accountant who until recently worked as the Senior Partner for KPMG East Anglia, joins our team having taken the decision to retire from the global professional services company.

Robert adds, “Prism Corporate Broking has proved that they are a highly professional and successful company and I look forward to working with them to enhance their services to clients, and grow the business.”

ICT Seminar Success – Maximise the Value of Your Business

In November 2009 we held our London seminar entitled ‘Maximise the Value of your ICT Business‘ at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters in the City.

For owners/managers of ICT businesses and associated intermediaries, the aim of the seminar was to advise delegates on how to maximise the value of their business, whether they were planning to sell or not.  It also included an overview of the 6 essential elements to make businesses more valuable and attractive to others.  Plus, a former CEO of a successful ICT business gave an honest insight into the lessons he learnt when selling his business.

The morning proved a great success and we would like to thank all who attended. Below is a brief summary of the feedback we received:

100% of delegates rated the seminar good or excellent.

Comments:

“Very useful, good mix of knowledge and experience.”

“Congratulations for the very well structured presentation.”

“Thanks, very good!”

If you were unable to make this event or would like to be kept informed of similar future events, please let us know by emailing events@prismcorporatebroking.com.

M&A Activity in the ICT Sector - November 09

We are still seeing particular interest in certain areas of the market – security being one of them.  Perhaps the most notable transaction was TA Associates acquisition of 25% of AVG Technologies for $200m.  The past month also saw ScanSafe go to Cisco Systems for $183m.

Prism has announced the sale of web based company Battery Force to Supreme Imports

Prism has facilitated the sale of one of the UK’s leading online battery retailers to one of the largest trade distributors of branded batteries.

Husband and wife team Christian and Barbara Karg established Battery Force and within just six years turned it into a highly successful business. The company sells branded batteries throughout the UK via an extremely sophisticated e-commerce system, the brainchild of Christian himself.  With great experience within business applied information technology, Christian created the technological platform for which to run Battery Force online, providing a logical and seamless retail system for both the customers and staff. 

Christian decided he wanted to sell Battery Force to focus on other technology driven projects and with the detailed guidance from Prism, he achieved his objective.

For full details please download our case study.

M&A Activity in the ICT Sector – September 09

Now we look back, we see that there were a number of notable transactions. Firstly, eBay offloading 65% of Skype to an investor group led by Silver Lake, thereby valuing the business at $2.75bn. eBay acquired Skype in 2005 for over $3bn but evidently found that the synergies with its core business were not sufficient. Staying with telecoms, September then saw Avaya picking up Nortel Networks‘ enterprise units for $915m. It had made a ‘stalking horse’ offer back in July for $475m.

Buying a Distressed Business

As briefly mentioned in last month’s newsletter, this month we look at the opportunities that arise from buying a distressed business. Chris McKay, a Chartered Accountant, licensed insolvency practitioner and an Associate at McTear Williams & Wood, highlights the elements to consider before taking the plunge…

Prism Facilitate Sale of RapidHost Ltd to Innovise plc

Prism has announced the sale of RapidHost Ltd, an internet hosting, backup and email services company to the fast growing software solutions and IT services provider, Innovise plc (AIM: INNO).

For full details please download:  Case Study – Sale of RapidHost – 110kb

Prism publishes  market research report into M&A in the ICT sector

Prism recently commissioned a research project into M&A in the ICT sector, specifically concerning medium sized companies (£0.5m to £10m turnover range).

Sale of SysAdmins

Prism Corporate Broking has advised Systems Administrators Limited in the sale of 100% of the share capital to Clearsprings (Management) Limited, a leading provider of accommodation and support services in the UK.