South East: Stevens & Bolton advises on £50m Romans Group MBO backed by Bowmark Capital

Law firm Stevens & Bolton LLP has advised Romans Group and its management team on its management buyout (MBO), backed by private equity group Bowmark Capital, at a valuation in excess of £50 million.

Founded in 1987, property group Romans has grown from a single site in Bracknell to a network of 18 branches across Berkshire, North Hampshire and Surrey and a staff of around 450. It provides a comprehensive range of estate agency, lettings agency and associated property services to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants and has won The Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year awards in the past two years.

Stevens & Bolton was appointed to act as its legal adviser on the MBO following a competitive pitch process in June, which Stevens & Bolton won ahead of some top international City-based firms.

Ken Woffenden, managing partner of Stevens & Bolton, commented: “It was a pleasure to work with Romans Group, its management team and Bowmark Capital to pull this significant deal together. We were delighted to be involved in such a high-profile buyout in the property services sector and are looking forward to continuing our relationship with Romans Group going forward.”

Peter Coles, Romans Group managing director, added: “This was a complex transaction which had to be delivered in a very tight timetable. We selected Stevens & Bolton as our legal advisers ahead of some big City firms, because they showed a real interest in our business and a strong, practical understanding of the challenges faced by the management team. Their performance was outstanding. They played a key role in guiding us through the whole process with minimal fuss or disruption to the day-to-day running of the business."

The Stevens & Bolton team was led by Woffenden and Keith Syson, head of corporate and commercial; and also included Mark Smith and Bethany Sheen of corporate, Kate Schmit and Deepash Patel of tax, Jonathan Foulds of real estate, and Kerry Garcia of employment.

SJ Berwin advised Bowmark Capital.