Zeus Capital, an independent investment bank, has advised on eight transactions across public and private markets since June 2019, with a gross value of approximately GBP600 million.
Zeus Capital has been particularly active in the consumer market, working with a number of technology-enabled businesses. The firm acted as the sole financial advisor to Manchester-based retail company, boohoo.com, on its acquisition of of two British brands, Karen Millen and Coast. The deal saw boohoo purchase the online operations and intellectual property rights of the two companies.
Zeus Capital also acted as financial adviser to Gousto, a supplier of subscription meal kits, on its GBP30 million private placement. Gousto has grown sales by 70 per cent in the last year, delivering an average of 2.5 million meals each month.
The firm also acted for Spectre Holdings on its acquisition of 93 per cent of the shares of listed retailer Bonmarche.
In addition, Zeus Capital acted as joint bookrunner to Merian Chrysalis Investment on its GBP175 million share placing. The firm has supported Merian on several fundraises and investments since inception, with the specialist fund actively targeting transactions in disruptive private businesses. Recent deals include high profile companies such The Hut Group, Transfer Wise and Secret Escapes.
Most recently, the firm advised independent video game company Catalis on its GBP90 million sale to NorthEdge Capital and existing investors Vespa Capital. The firm provided lead advisory and Rule 3 advice to Catalis, with the deal enabling the business to continue its global expansion and support its development pipeline.
Alongside this, since the firm’s Debt Advisory team has made 11 deals worth a total of GBP550 million since its creation eleven months ago. In June, the team assisted the Japanese food brand, Yo! Sushi, a portfolio company of Mayfair Equity Partners, on its acquisition of US-based Snowfox.
Tremayne Ducker, Head of Corporate Finance at Zeus Capital, says: “Our strong performance over the last four months demonstrates the breadth of our offering, across both public and private equity markets, as well as debt advisory. There continues to be strong investor demand for businesses with disruptive models and high growth, but also clients targeting opportunistic acquisitions, driven by a slowdown in certain sectors. Our pipeline suggests that there will continue to be a real mix of deals coming through, across a wide range of sectors. It also suggests that the acquisition of public companies is likely to be a key theme over coming months.”
