Cavendish leads on the sale of leading 'New Digital' agency Dare to Oliver Group 

Cavendish Corporate Finance, the UK's leading sell-side mid-market M&A firm, has advised on the sale of Dare, one of Britain's first and leading new digital agencies, to Oliver Group ("OLIVER"), the fastest growing independent agency in the UK.

Founded in 2000 by Mark Collier, the former Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) joint managing director, Dare is one of Britain's great digital success stories. Established as one of the first digital agencies in the UK, Dare quickly grew to become a leader in its field and was sold to Canadian marketing group Cossette in 2007.

Currently owned by EDC Communications, a group of marketing services companies backed by the US private equity firm Mill Road Capital, Dare has established itself as a 'new digital' agency providing a full range of creative digital services including websites and mobile apps, brand repositioning, content programmes, and advertising.

Dare, which was previously recognised as Campaign's Digital Agency of the Decade, works with companies across a wide variety of sectors from financial services to food, cosmetics to automotive and has led a number of innovative and well-known campaigns. Its clients include an array of global blue-chip brands, such as Investec, Nike, EE, Barclays and Ryanair.

Established in 2004, OLIVER has developed a revolutionary approach to marketing services putting tailor-made agency teams within their client organisations - currently operating more than 50 on-site agencies. This unique model enables the company to benefit from the intimacy and proximity of working inside their client companies, but with the benefit of an off-site hub agency supplying a wealth of resources and expertise in all areas of creative services, design and content.

With this acquisition Dare will remain a standalone agency brand operating  within  OLIVER and the transaction will enable both businesses to benefit through combining their unique areas of expertise - Dare with its strong digital offering and established brand  and OLIVER with its disruptive industry model. All other EDC business and operations will remain unaffected by this acquisition.

With digital continuing to grow at  a rapid pace, fuelled by the move towards mobile and demand for richer content, and digital advertising spend globally expected to reach $170bn this year, the market opportunity is significant for the enlarged group to continue its path of fast growth and market penetration internationally.

Cavendish's media and digital team, led by Partner and Head of Media and Digital Linda Sullivan, has a wealth of experience in advising companies operating in the creative industries. Previous transactions include advising on the sale of many leading brands including: the recent sale of Rex Features to Shutterstock Inc., The Planning Shop International Limited, which was acquired by Adelphi Worldwide, part of Omnicom and the sale of The Communications Agency to Communisis Plc. Cavendish completed 20 transactions in 2014 and this is the firm's 17^th deal so far this year.

Linda Sullivan, Partner and Head of Media and Digital at Cavendish Corporate Finance, commented:

"For both Dare and OLIVER this deal was a great result, bringing together two unique companies both with established track records and robust client bases. More fundamentally, we are also seeing an industry shift towards the ground-breaking "agency-inside" model that OLIVER is successfully pioneering and this represents a significant opportunity for the enlarged group moving forward. 

The marketing services sector is buoyant with deal volumes increasing 17% on 2013, and with the continued fast-pace digital evolution continuing to shape the landscape we expect M&A to be a route for a number of industry players looking to strengthen their market positions."

Mark Collier, Non-Executive Chairman of Dare, commented:

"This is a hugely exciting opportunity for Dare to be part of such a progressive and fast growing marketing services group. The OLIVER model is genuinely unique and it is proving to be increasingly attractive to clients, both in the UK and internationally. Dare will now be able to work alongside OLIVER, with access to its global agency resources, whilst remaining an independent brand."

 Simon Martin, CEO of OLIVER Group, commented:

"Dare is an innovator in the digital space, creating hugely engaging digital experiences.  We are excited by the possibilities of bringing them into the OLIVER Group and believe the synergies between the two companies innovative mindset's will lead to an exciting future."

NVM completes development capital investment in musicMagpie

Entertainment Magpie Limited (musicMagpie.co.uk), the Stockport-based recommerce site, has received a significant development capital investment from the Manchester office of NVM Private Equity.

Established in 2007 by co-founders Steve Oliver (Group CEO) and Walter Gleeson (Group COO), musicMagpie.co.uk is the most popular recommerce website in Europe, providing consumers with cash for their unwanted CDs, DVDs, Games and Electronics.

NVM's investment will primarily enable musicMagpie to launch its new 'faster payment' consumer offer which will in particular support the rapid acceleration of its trade-in of electronics such as mobile phones, games consoles and laptops, along with enhancing the musicMagpie offer generally for all consumers who are seeking 'quick cash'.

The investment by NVM comes as LDC exits the business following its investment in musicMagpie.co.uk in 2011 to support the business' international expansion, which saw the business successfully launch its US website 'decluttr.com' based in Atlanta.

Andy Leach, from NVM, will join the Entertainment Magpie board, alongside founders Oliver and Gleeson, and the company's other Executive Directors in Ian Storey (Group CFO), Peter Petrondas (Group Electronics Director) and Jo Smith (Group IT Director). A non-Executive Chairman will also join the board in the near future.

Steve Oliver, CEO of musicMagpie.co.uk: "We have enjoyed a strong relationship with LDC over the period of working together and are grateful for their support during the last four years, but we are now delighted to be working with the excellent team at  NVM  at such an exciting time for the business"

"We will now be launching our new faster payments offer for customers, which enables us to make payment for their items on the same day we receive them. This will allow our customers to not only declutter but also raise cash quickly for their unwanted items as a debt-free alternative to the much maligned 'pay day loan' type lenders.  We will also be looking to now expand our successful US business in the coming months, along with furthering the musicMagpie.co.uk platform to enable us to both buy and sell to our significant consumer base of over 3m users."

Andy Leach from NVM said "We are very much looking forward to working with Steve and the team at musicMagpie to help them deliver the very clear strategies that the business has for the next stage of its growth"

The Deloitte Manchester office provided lead advisory services to the deal, with DWF (sellers) and Osborne Clarke (buyers) providing legal services. Due Diligence Services were provided by KPMG (Financial), Sempora Consulting (Commercial and Market), Intuitus (IT) and The Quinn Partnership (Management). 

ShopFully receives €10M in funding from Highland Europe

ShopFully Group, headquartered in Italy where it operates under the national brand DoveConviene, has received €10m funding from Highland Capital Partners Europe. The round takes the company's total funding to over €20M in three years - previous investment was received fromPrincipia SGR, 360 Capital Partners and Merifin.
 
ShopFully Group's platform, founded in 2010, is used by over 13 million people worldwide to help them prepare and plan their purchases in physical stores, in the smartest way possible. The digital platform offers a wealth of geo-located information including details about promotions, products, shops, opening times, and contacts of the main retailers and brands. The service is available both online through the website as well through the free app developed for all major mobile platforms: iOS, Android, Windows8, Amazon and BlackBerry. 
 
ShopFully Group already works with over 200 leading brands and retailers. By engaging consumers in the 'last mile' - while they are in the process of planning their shopping - the service is proven to have a real impact on 'drive to store' (88% of users go on to purchase offline) and on the consumers' choice of retailer (66% choose a different retailer after consultingShopFully). In addition, the platform significantly influences the 'intention to buy', impacting it up to 25% (source: Nielsen 2013-2014).
 
The business is already a leading player in Italy, Spain, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. Over the past 12 months it has experienced 300% growth internationally and 120% growth in Italy, equating to 6 million new users. The funding will be used to grow the teams in each country; to continue expansion into new territories with an aim of a total of 10 national markets within 2016; and to further develop the platform.
 
Stefano Portu, founder and CEO of ShopFully Group, said, "What we are doing is shifting a simple shopper habit from paper to mobile - digitising one of the richest offline media, the commercial flyer - worth about $30 billion worldwide. Our expansion into the international market is proceeding as planned - and the mobile boom, a key trend for us, is accelerating fast.During the last 6 months over 50 people have joined the company, and we plan to double staff numbers within the next 18 months. ShopFully Group is a solid and scaleable business - and with this new funding our expansion plans can really accelerate."
 
Alessandro Palmieri, founder and CEO of ShopFully Group, said, "We are delighted to be working with the team at Highland. They have the proven expertise and resources to really support international leaders like us. More and more, consumers want to make smart decisions about shopping in physical stores and they need geo-localised information to do this. By using our platform, consumers can optimise their shopping time without reducing the enjoyment of shopping."
 
Tony Zappalà, Partner at Highland Capital Partners Europe added: "At Highland, we seek to invest in internet, mobile and software companies that have the potential to become global market leaders in their field. The strong growth and international scalability of ShopFully Group's business model fits perfectly with our desire to back European businesses with the capability and ambition to become world-leading businesses. With this investment we want to contribute to the expansion and consolidation of a long lasting and valuable business in the retail sector, who we are sure is going to the global leader in this vertical." 

EVCA becomes 'Invest Europe: The Voice of Private Capital'

The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association [EVCA] today announces that it has changed its name to 'Invest Europe - The Voice of Private Capital'. 

Invest Europe is the voice of investors in privately-held companies in Europe. From its roots representing European venture capital, Invest Europe has grown to encompass private equity and infrastructure, as well as long-term investors such as pension funds and insurance companies that provide capital for investment, on behalf of millions of beneficiaries across the world. 

Since 2007, private equity and venture capital firms have invested €350 billion in around 28,000 European companies, which employ up to 8 million people. The change of name was overwhelmingly endorsed by Invest Europe's members, in recognition of the industry's evolution since the association was founded over 30 years ago.

As Invest Europe, the association will demonstrate that it is the principal authority representing private capital and continue to engage with policymakers in Brussels and national capitals, as well as global investors, the media and public. These efforts are underpinned by Invest Europe's research, viewed as the definitive resource for private equity and venture capital data. 
 
Invest Europe Chief Executive, Dörte Höppner, said: "This marks an important milestone for our organisation. As Invest Europe, we will be better placed to articulate how vital Europe's private capital investors are to the economy and to support policymakers in developing solutions to Europe's growth challenge. 

"Venture capital, private equity and infrastructure are not only essential providers of investment to growing companies; they also provide guidance and expertise, helping SMEs to become global champions, including Skype, LateRooms, Moleskine and Tommy Hilfiger.  Crucially, we also represent the long-term investors from pension funds, insurance companies and other global institutions backing Europe's private capital sector, to the tune of €40 billion a year.

"As demonstrated by the announcement of the Commission's proposals for the Capital Market Union announced yesterday, our industry is important to Europe's dynamic economy. With our change of name, we hope to ensure that our association is at the forefront of the debate regarding Europe's economic future."

Private Equity Managers to invest more than EUR 100 mln in CEE Internet companies

The funds managed by Private Equity Managers Group (PEManagers Group, Group) are planning further major investment projects for the upcoming months. PLN 400 mln (ca. EUR 100 mln) has been invested since the beginning of the year.
The digital economy accounts for an increasingly large share of the world's GDP. In keeping with this trend, the investment scale of PEManagers Group funds investing in Internet and new technology companies is also growing. Since the beginning of the year, the funds have made investments worth more than PLN 400 mln (ca. EUR 100 mln). Further investments are planned to be completed and these amounts are thus expected to continue growing.

"The funds managed by PEManagers have already invested more than PLN 400 mln this year. This amount may significantly increase once we complete the large-scale transactions that we have set our sights on. We cannot disclose any details about them yet. They involve companies from sectors ranging from fintech, through e-commerce to digital transformation," said Cezary Smorszczewski, President of the Management Board of Private Equity Managers S.A.
Currently, the Group has several hundred million Polish zlotys available for investments and its independent investment capacity amounts to more than EUR 200 mln. It is now considering acquiring additional funds - both by issuing investment certificates and bonds.

"This year we can still complete several investment certificate issues, if the need arises. It is an accessible source of funding and so we can flexibly react to the opportunities that appear in the market. Certificates are an interesting investment and can generate a rate of return of well over ten percent. We work with several banks which are interested in distributing them in the private banking sector. We also have bonds issues ahead of us, both within MCI Group and beyond," added Cezary Smorszczewski.

Listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since April 2015, PEManagers Group achieved a consolidated net profit of PLN 37.6 mln (EUR 8.9 mln) in the first half of 2015, up 80% year-on-year. This means that the annual profit forecast execution rate after the first half of the year reached 73 percent. The Group shares the generated profit with its shareholders. Its dividend policy envisages the distribution of up to 100% of the profit. This year, it has paid out a dividend of PLN 12.04 per share (a dividend rate of 8.30%).

Good financial results are also achieved by key companies from the portfolio of funds managed by PEManagers Group.

"Our investments are doing very well so far, which is reflected by the results of our portfolio companies. Indeks, the largest Turkish IT distributor from the MCI. EuroVentures Fund portfolio, generated an 84% increase in net profit in the second quarter of the year, along with a 100% increase in revenue and a 140% increase in EBITDA as compared to the same period last year. According to the Garanti Securities recommendation issued in August, the stock price of Indeks has a growth potential of over 30%. ABC Data is an equally good investment. The company recorded excellent results in the 1st half of the year and we can see that the Management Board is consistent in its implementation of the previously announced strategy. The investment in ABC Data generates an IRR rate of return of 20-30 percent. The company expects its value to grow to PLN 1 billion by 2018, and I believe that it is on the right track to achieve that goal," said Wojciech Marcińczyk, Vice-President of the Management Board of MCI Management S.A., which holds more than 70% of the assets under management of PEManagers Group.