Livingstone has advised the shareholders of ENRA Group, including Livingbridge, on its sale to Exponent Private Equity.
ENRA Group is a provider of mortgage finance.
This is the fourth transaction the Livingstone team has advised ENRA on, previously introducing exiting chairman David Campbell on his investment in 2013, raising growth capital from Livingbridge in 2014 and its subsequent acquisition of West One Loans, also in 2014.
ENRA lends and brokers short-term bridge mortgages as well as distributing specialist second charge and buy-to-let products. The business has enjoyed strong growth on the back of its bespoke manual underwriting process that allows it to offer a superior customer centric approach. ENRA is lends from its own balance sheet and places loans with external investors via its West One platform, in addition to operating a master broker under the Enterprise brand.
With the backing of Exponent, ENRA has plans to expand into the specialist buy-to-let and second charge mortgage market, continuing to focus on products that meet the needs of underserved customers in a sector that is experiencing significant change.
David Stewart, former CEO of Coventry Building Society, will join the board as chairman.
The transaction is subject to FCA approval.
Danny Waters, CEO of ENRA, says: “This is the fourth deal that James Lever and the team at Livingstone have advised me on since I first met them in 2012. They have played a key role in helping us execute our strategy, financing the growth of the business and have provided invaluable support to the management team. This process and transaction has been highly complex but they have helped us reach an outcome that all stakeholders are extremely happy with.”
