RJD Partners has exchanged contracts to realise its investment in Ipes, one of Europe’s leading providers of fund administration and outsourcing services, in a buyout backed by Silverfleet Capital.
The transaction values Ipes at GBP50m, giving a return to RJD of 3x its original investment. Final completion is subject to obtaining regulatory approval.
Ipes is the fourth successful realisation from RJD’s second fund, RJD Private Equity Fund Il, which closed in July 2007. The first three realisations were Teaching Personnel, TransLinc and Raphael Healthcare.
RJD backed the GBP25m buyout of Ipes from its original founder in September 2008, fully underwriting the deal.
Ipes was founded in Guernsey in 1998 with just five employees. Today the business employs 130 staff, managing in excess of USD50bn of assets from four European offices in Guernsey, Jersey, London and Luxembourg. Ipes has over 90 clients and administers 230 funds.
Under RJD’s ownership, Kevin Brennan and the management team have delivered significant growth, transforming Ipes from an owner managed business to a professional market-leading pan-European operator and increasing assets under management from USD36bn at the time of the original buyout, to over USD50bn today, despite a challenging market backdrop.
Organic expansion has been achieved through winning new clients and funds and the opening of new offices, and operational value has also been realised through significant investment in IT and infrastructure, expanding and strengthening the operational team and the appointment of an experienced chairman, Richard Grainger.
Richard Caston (pictured), managing partner, RJD Partners, says: "We are delighted to have supported an exceptionally strong management team in growing Ipes into a clear market leader with an unparalleled reputation for service. This transaction delivers a highly successful exit for RJD and our funds. We wish Ipes every success under its new financial backer.”
Kevin Brennan, chief executive, Ipes, says: "We have enjoyed working in partnership with RJD over the past five years to build Ipes’s outstanding track record in the fund administration market and to deliver consistent growth. There remain exciting opportunities both domestically and internationally for the business going forward, particularly with the introduction of recent legislation such as AIFMD, FATCA and Dodd-Frank. Silverfleet Capital has been a customer of Ipes for over ten years so we are delighted that they are backing the business in its next stage of development.”
RJD was advised by teams led by Byron Griffin at Deloitte (corporate finance advice) and Jim Lavery at DLA (legal advice). Management were advised by Babbe (legal advice) and Wyvern Partners (corporate finance advice).
Richard Caston and Jill Williams worked on the realisation for RJD.
