Altium acted as financial advisor to the shareholders of Guestline, a leading provider of mission critical software for the hospitality sector, in securing a significant investment from The Riverside Company.
The Riverside Company has entered a definitive agreement to invest in Guestline and the transaction is expected to close imminently.
Based in Shrewsbury, Guestline delivers a range of products covering all areas of hospitality and hotel management, with solutions that drive up occupancy, average room rate and yield. The business has a broad customer base of independent hotels, hotel chains, student accommodation and aparthotels and is a trusted partner for properties in 20 countries across four continents.
This latest transaction sees Altium build on its leading position in international technology advisory, having completed 32 technology transactions (worth in excess of £2.1bn) since the start of 2015. Other recent deals include the sale of a majority stake in enterprise mobility software developer TotalMobile to Lyceum Capital and the sale of hosting and application delivery specialist C24 to Six Degrees Group.
Altium, utilising its highly experienced international technology team and working alongside its US investment banking partner Petsky Prunier, executed a dual-track process for the shareholders of Guestline to approach both global investors and strategic parties. The deal was led by Altium's Manchester team, including managing director Adrian Reed, Dominic Orsini and Jon Stead.
Reed says: “We are delighted to have been able to work with the Guestline team. This is a truly exceptional business and there was little surprise that Guestline attracted the focus that it did given the private equity community’s interest in the technology and hospitality sectors. The business has a huge opportunity ahead of it and, most importantly, in Riverside the team have found the ideal partner to help them to achieve this”.
Guestline CEO Phil Davidson says: "Adrian and his team have been invaluable in how they have guided both management and the majority shareholders throughout the process. The expertise and commitment of the Altium team delivered the perfect result for all stakeholders – in Riverside we have found the right partner to take the business forward and the deal represented an outstanding outcome”.
Riverside partner Martin Scott says: “Guestline’s products are proven to seamlessly and easily generate revenue for customers,” said Riverside Partner Martin Scott. “It is an exceptional platform for growth, as the company has strong expansion potential both in its home market and internationally. We are excited to partner with a top class management team to help deliver the next phase of growth.”
Working with Scott on the deal for Riverside were Vice Presidents Tommy Seddon, Marcin Goszyk and Associate Alicia Wnorowski. Seddon also sourced the deal for Riverside.
Guestline received corporate finance advice from Altium, legal advice from Pinsent Masons (Edward Stead and Andy Phillips) and tax advice from Grant Thornton (John Loebl and Matt Allen). PWC's transaction services team, led by Jonathan Cooper, Graham Watson and Pete Stephenson, provided financial, tax and technical due diligence on the deal, while commercial due diligence was provided by both PWC and Grant Thornton (Ven Balakrishnan).
