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South: Spectrum advises PE house on The Appointment Group acquisition

30 July 2018
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Spectrum Corporate Finance has advised new UK mid-market private equity house Apiary Capital on the acquisition of The Appointment Group (TAG), and the associated debt raise to fund the purchase.

Spectrum acted as lead and debt advisor to Apiary Capital, helping win the opportunity, assisting with evaluating the business and negotiations, deal structuring and debt advisory, as well as project managing the deal through to completion.

Apiary Capital is a recently established mid-market PE House, having recently closed its first fund at the £200 million hard-cap. Led by Mark Salter, who has 16 years private equity experience, Apiary is planning to invest in the education, healthcare and business & technology services sectors. The acquisition of TAG is the first. The Spectrum debt advisory team were retained to secure bank funding from Santander to support Apiary’s acquisition of TAG and provide working capital facilities.

Founded by John Gianquitto and Maurice Veronique in 1988, TAG is the leading travel management company to the global live music and entertainment touring industry. TAG works with tour managers to arrange complex, often global, travel itineraries for performing artistes such as Jay-Z, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Foo Fighters and Depeche Mode, as well as their support teams and production crews.

The company also serves the ‘high-touch’ segment of the corporate travel market, particularly the financial services, sports, film and media sectors, as well as providing event management services.

Headquartered in the UK, TAG has 270 employees across nine offices in four countries, including London, Manchester, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Singapore and Sydney. Apiary’s investment will drive transformational growth for TAG through acquisitions, investment in technology and people, as well as continued international expansion.

The Appointment Group was advised by James Cowper Kreston, with legal advice from Pitmans Law, and management advisory from Livingstone Partners. Apiary Capital received legal advice from Browne Jacobson and due diligence support from RSM (Financial) and Grant Thornton (Commercial).

Nicki Boyd, partner at Apiary Capital, said: “Our investment is testament to the impressive business John and Maurice have built together. As a UK company operating in a fragmented market, but with an excellent platform for growth, TAG fits perfectly within our investment sphere. 

"The Spectrum team played a valuable role in getting the deal completed, diligently supporting across a number of workstreams. We look forward to doing more deals with them in the future.”

Chairman and CEO of The Appointment Group, John Gianquitto said: This is an incredible milestone for The Appointment Group. Apiary’s investment will enable the Group to accelerate its growth through technology investment and expansion into new markets, whilst maintaining its reputation for peerless levels of customer service that everyone has come to expect from TAG.”

Darren Miller, director, Spectrum Corporate Finance, said: “We are delighted to have been able to work with Apiary Capital to complete the first investment in their debut £200m fund. TAG is very well placed to capitalise on future growth opportunities and we wish Apiary and the Management Team great success over the coming years.”


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