FEBRUARY 2014 EXPERT IT AND TECHNOLOGY ADVICE THROUGHOUT THE INVESTMENT LIFE-CYCLE We are delighted to report that 2013 was another successful year for Intuitus. We provided IT and technology expertise in support of 80 transactions, more than any previous year, and we delivered strategic IT and operational improvement advice to more private equity-backed companies than ever before. We were increasingly active in continental Europe, grew both our advisory network and in-house team and opened a new project office in Edinburgh. As a trusted IT and technology adviser, Intuitus is dedicated to the private equity sector and we offer full investment lifecycle support. Our buy-side services advise an investor at the point of entry, not just in terms of risk assessment but also with regards to pragmatic recommendations for improving the operational performance of the target company. Of the 80 transactions that we advised in 2013, 68 were for private equity buyers and although these deals took much longer than usual to cross the line, 80% were successfully completed by our clients. This was a much higher success rate than we have previously seen. In addition, we advised 10 strategic (M&A) acquisitions. A sample of the breadth of our buy-side work is included in the tables opposite and on page 2. Our portfolio support services are designed to add value to the portfolio company (and hence to the investment itself) as it strives to deliver its business plan. Requirements are usually driven by a change programme that is often brought about by a restructuring or refinancing of the business, or by the continued evolution of the business to the point that existing IT or technology operations need A searchable database of all of our work can be found on our website at www.intuitus.co.uk
Intuitus provided IT and technology due diligence advisory services in support of 68 buy-side transactions for private-equity in 2013. Here is a selection: Investor
Investee
Nature of Investee Business
Sector
MDNX / Easynet
Carrier integrator / Managed networking, hosting and cloud integration services provider
Communications Dec-13
Kee Safety
Global supplier of safety solutions and products
Business Services Nov-13
Alpha Financial Markets Consulting
Provider of consulting and benchmarking services to financial institutions
Financial Services Oct-13
LOC Group
International provider of marine and engineering assurance services
Oil & Gas
Oct-13
On The Beach
Beach specialist online travel agent
Leisure
Oct-13
Equiom
Global trust and corporate service provider
Financial Services Oct-13
Kindertons
Accident management services provider
Financial Services Oct-13
Meter Provida (from Fusion)
Supply chain specialist in gas meters Distribution and meter kits
Aridhia Informatics Health and biomedical informatics
Date
Oct-13
Healthcare
Sep-13
Bernard Matthews
Producer of turkey and cooked meats
Consumer
Sep-13
Douglas Gill
A leading global sailing brand
Consumer
Sep-13
SGP (from Johnson Provider of managed facilities and property services Service Group)
Business Services Aug-13
Icelolly
Online holiday price comparison provider
Leisure
Aug-13
Kings Court Trust
Specialist provider of probate and estate administration services
Professional Services
Aug-13
Mandata
Provider of software as a service (“SaaS”) to the UK haulage and logistics market
IT
Aug-13 ...continued on page 2
“As part of our pre-investment due diligence, the team at Intuitus conducted a thorough review of SocialBro’s software platform, technical architecture, capability and operations. The team worked well across both sites – in London and Cordoba, Spain – and the final report was clear and insightful. In addition, their expert knowledge of this specific market was invaluable, giving a true global context to the report’s findings.” Mark Gracey, Principal, Scottish Equity Partners
“Intuitus’ experience of the sell side process combined with their independence allowed us to deliver a report upon which potential buyers could rely and that was also useful to us as an operational improvement guide. This definitely wasn’t brochure-ware but real diligence and reporting based on expert opinion and knowledge.” Gareth Hughes, Chief Executive, Marston Group ...continued from page 1
Investor
Investee
Nature of Investee Business
Sector
Date
Essendex
Provider of mission-critical application-to-person SMS services IT to businesses
Jul-13
Hawksmoor
Operator of four high-end steak restaurants in London
Leisure
Jul-13
Angus Fire (from UTC)
Manufacture and supply of hose, foam concentrate and fire fighting systems
Manufacturing
Inenco Group (from EnServe)
Energy management procurement and risk management services
Business Services Jul-13
Rivo Software
Environmental, health and safety software provider
IT
KRS
Independent distributor of equity release loans and annuities
Financial Services Jun-13
Medica Reporting
Teleradiology service provider
Healthcare
May-13
SocialBro
Cloud solutions for the management and analysis of social communities
IT
May-13
Petrotechnics
Provider of operational performance and risk management software
Oil & Gas
Apr-13
Petrochem Carless
Refiner and producer of hydrocarbon chemicals
Oil & Gas
Apr-13
Help-Link
Central heating specialist
Business Services Apr-13
Law Business Research
Specialist legal publisher
Professional Services
Feb-13
Visionware
Provider of software solutions in the Master Data Management sector
IT
Feb-13
Mister Spex
Online eyewear retailer
Retail
Jan-13
Jul-13
Jun-13
We also advised numerous M&A transactions, including the following: Client
Client Business Transaction
Sector
Date
Independent travel Investment in an EMEA travel management sector software company company
Travel
Sep-13
Independent business travel agent
Acquisition of Hotelscene, a travel services business
Travel
Jun-13
Global navigation solutions provider
Acquisition of DPM and Lilley & Gillie Charts, marine navigational chart distributors
Business Services
May-13
The UK's largest judicial services group
Acquisition of Rossendales Ltd, a competitor business
Business Services
Mar-13
to be re-directed or enhanced. The tables on pages 3 and 4 include a sample of our portfolio support work in 2013, which accounted for 40% of our overall business. And we can provide exit readiness and sell-side services to assist a portfolio company ahead of sale.Whilst the majority of our transaction support work is on the buy-side, we advised two vendors in 2013 and several other management teams who were keen for an opinion on their IT operations in advance of a sale process. As can be seen from the tables in this newsletter,we work across all industry sectors and continue with our core commitment to provide relevant expertise on each deal and every portfolio support engagement. In 2013 we brought in senior level IT professionals across a broad range of disciplines including software, digital, multi-channel retail, financial services and healthcare. This complements existing expertise in many of these areas but also manufacturing, distribution, consumer, travel and support services. And we’re actively strengthening our advisory capability to support telecoms and new media requirements. All of our client-facing work is supported by our service management, project office and quality assurance functions. The table below highlights the breadth of our sector activity associated with the 68 private equity-led deals that we advised in 2013. Sectors No. Deals Supported Business Services 9 Consumer/Leisure/Retail 10 Financial Services 7 Healthcare/Pharmaceutical 9 IT/Technology/Communications 17 Manufacturing/Distribution 8 Oil & Gas 3 Professional Services 3 Property 2
"Working with Intuitus helped us to identify the critical software and intellectual property within the business. Their understanding of our requirements as a debt provider, and open and direct responses to the scope of work, was crucial to delivering a report which was accurate, independent and upon which our decision making process could rely." Chris Bone, Director, Growth Finance at Clydesdale Bank
“Intuitus quickly got to grips with the methodology we wished to adopt to our IT due diligence ahead of our acquisition of SinDelantal.com. The report, whilst concise, was very thorough and written with a genuine understanding of our business sector and a good feel for the direction in which we wanted to take the business." Giorgio Ponticelli, Managing Director Benelux & Group Business Development Director. Just Eat Here is a selection of our portfolio support and other work for corporates in 2013: Client
Client Business
Sector
Services Provided
Home-based healthcare services
Healthcare
Project Implementation Support
Provider of technical expertise to the international oil and gas industry
Business Services
Project Implementation Support
Metal and waste recycling
Business Services
Project Implementation Support
Named patient pharmaceutical supplier
Pharmaceutical
Project Implementation Support
Online learning provider
Education
Ongoing IT strategy advice
Care home pharmacy services and medicines management
Healthcare
IT Operations Review
Operator of caravan and selfcatering holiday parks
Leisure
IT Operations Review
Daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting newspaper
Media
IT Operations Review
Chain of non-surgical skin treatment clinics
Healthcare
Systems Selection & Procurement
Global provider of trust, corporate and fund administration services
Financial Services
IT Strategy & Roadmap Development
Supplier of aerospace details and sub-assemblies
Manufacturing
IT Operations Review
Value retailer
Retail
IT Operations Review
Online holiday price comparison provider
Leisure
IT Operations Review
PORTFOLIO SUPPORT SERVICES IT Operations Review
...continued on page 4
Expert assessments that both highlight the positives and identify pragmatic recommendations for mitigating risks and weaknesses of a company’s IT operations, all designed to improve operational performance. IT Strategy & Roadmap Development The rationale and roadmap for the development of a company’s applications, systems, infrastructure and IT management practices - in support of its business plan. Interim IT Management The provision of a commercially and operationally-proven, sector relevant CTO or IT Director who, for a period of time, will deliver the IT strategy on behalf of the management team. System Selection and Procurement Independent, best practice leadership at all stages of the procurement process, ensuring the considered selection of systems and services that best meet the business requirement. ...continued on page 4
“Working with the team at Intuitus was seamless. We found the consultants easily accessible and very responsive. As evidenced by a clear and succinct report, they clearly understood the sector in which we were looking to invest. The report was far-reaching, covering not only MediFox’s technology operations but also its software products.” Florian Thelenberg, Investment Associate, Equity Capital Management GmbH
“There is no doubt that Portman Travel derived real value from Intuitus’ work.This was a potentially complicated diligence assignment with multiple stakeholders - here in the UK and further afield - yet Intuitus' methodical approach ensured a thorough review that gave us all confidence. Their findings and recommendations were commercial and well considered and presented in a structured and concise report that enabled the Portman team to get a great understanding of the opportunities as well as the risks of the project.” Daryl Cohen,Vision Capital – major shareholder in Portman Travel ...continued from page 3
...continued from page 3
PORTFOLIO SUPPORT SERVICES
Client
Programme & Project Management Operationally-focused, sector relevant Programme and Project Managers who take day-to-day responsibility for the successful introduction of new systems and services and for the realisation of business objectives. Project Implementation Support Expert guidance to unblock known issues, assist with project set up, advise Project Boards, right-track the performance of failing projects and improve the performance of difficult third party relationships. Expert Technology Recruitment Expertise that helps companies find and then recruit with confidence the right senior technology personnel. The proven strength of the Intuitus’ business model is the management team’s understanding of the private equity sector and our clients’ expectations with regards to due diligence and portfolio support, allied with the technical, sector and commercial expertise of our real-world consultants.
Client Business
Sector
Services Provided
Restaurant operator
Leisure
IT Operations Review
International group of corporate finance specialists
Financial Services
Systems Selection & Procurement
Flexible packaging solutions
Manufacturing
Systems Selection & Procurement
Fund management
Financial Services
IT Operations Review
Owner and operator of petrol forecourts
Retail
IT Operations Review
Chilled, time-critical food & drink logistics
Distribution
Systems Selection & Procurement; IT Operations Review
Global courier for clinical trials
Logistics
IT Strategy & Roadmap Development
Restaurant chain
Consumer
Interim IT Management
IT services provider
IT
IT Operations Review
Ferry operator
Travel/ Transport
Interim IT Management
THE INTUITUS TEAM
Maria Hamilton
Adrian Astley-Jones
Clarissa Rowe
Iain Mackay
Louisa Kemp
Calum Stewart
The Intuitus team comprises Calum Stewart (Managing Director), Iain Mackay (Technical Director), Adrian Astley-Jones (Business Development Manager), Maria Hamilton (Delivery Support Manager), Louisa Kemp (Delivery Support Administrator) and Clarissa Rowe (Technical QA). Both Louisa and Clarissa joined us in 2013 and we look forward to announcing three further appointments to the team in 2014. Calum and Adrian are your initial points of contact for new requirements, whereas Iain, Maria, Louisa and Clarissa are responsible for service management and delivery.
For more information contact: Adrian Astley-Jones t 0131 208 1624 m 07432 087187 e adrian.astley-jones@intuitus.co.uk www.intuitus.co.uk