South East: FRP acquires Spectrum Corporate Finance

Specialist business advisory firm FRP has announced the acquisition of Spectrum Corporate Finance in a £9.4 million deal. 

Founded in 2010 by Simon Davies, Clive Hatchard and Ian Milne, Spectrum is the largest independent corporate finance and debt advisory firm in the south of England. It provides strategic support and advice for owner-managed businesses and their funders across the UK mid-market from its offices in Reading and London, with particular focus on the central south, South East and London markets.  

In 2020, Spectrum’s corporate finance team advised on 25 completed transactions with a combined deal value of more than £900m. This included advising on the acquisition of VIPR by Tenzing Private Equity, the sale of Babble on behalf of LDC to Graphite Capital, and the sale of Porterhouse Medical to imc group, in a deal backed by Waterland Private Equity. 

Its debt advisory team also continued to support clients with acquisition finance, capital raising and refinancing projects as it advised on £440m of debt raised for business owners, investors and management teams looking to complete a transaction or to support future growth.  

Commenting on the transaction, Geoff Rowley, CEO of FRP, said: “Spectrum is a fantastic business and the team has built a strong reputation, particularly within the UK private equity community, for the quality of service it provides to its clients. We have a strong cultural alignment and this deal not only strengthens FRP’s position in the UK mid-cap transactional advisory market, but it also enables our combined teams to continue supporting clients post Covid-19 as we help to address both their strategic ambitions and provide support as challenges arise. 

“The deal also follows our acquisition of JDC Group in September last year, cementing our position as a truly national provider of corporate finance and debt advisory services. We are genuinely excited about the contribution the Spectrum team will make to FRP and are looking forward to working together as we support our clients across the UK.” 

As part of the transaction, all 27 employees will join FRP. This includes Spectrum’s co-founders, in addition to Mark Farlow, Simon Sherliker, Darren Miller and James Mines who all join FRP as partners. They will be joined by 12 fee earners, four research analysts and four colleagues in support services.  

Davies, co-founder of Spectrum, added: "We are delighted to have found in FRP a partnership that shares our values of professionalism, quality, entrepreneurial spirit and achieving the best possible outcome for clients. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved at Spectrum over the past 10 years, and as a new chapter starts with FRP, we are excited at the opportunities this new partnership presents for our team and our clients. We are looking forward to continuing to grow our corporate finance and debt advisory businesses nationally, as a combined group.”  

Together, FRP’s national corporate finance and debt advisory teams now comprise 48 fee earners, including 18 partners, across nine locations.