We advised Shard Credit Partners Limited on three acquisition financings within a month.
Shard Credit Partners is a provider of alternative finance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the UK lower mid-market.
In December 2020 we advised on their first investment in Scotland with the completion of a £12m senior secured unitranche financing in support of a £15m management buy-in acquisition of JST Services (Scotland) Ltd (JST). Ayr-headquartered JST was founded in 1993 and is a market-leading port handling and logistics company operating throughout the UK and Ireland.
Following on from the JST deal, we next advised on £12m acquisition financing to support a management buy-out of eQuality Solutions Ltd (eQS). Founded in 2006, Hebburn-based eQS is one of the largest assistive technology and training providers in the UK. The business provides assistive technology equipment, training and software solutions that help to remove barriers to learning for students who have cognitive disabilities.
We then finished off the year with the management buy-out of Chameleon Technology via £12.5m acquisition financing. Chameleon Technology is the leading provider of in-home displays for smart meters in the UK, with an approximate 60% market share.
Banking & finance partner, Andrew Madden, commented: “It’s a real achievement to complete so many deals for Shard Credit Partners in such quick succession. All of these businesses will benefit from Shard’s financial backing and we hope to continue to support Shard as it looks to launch its second fund in the future.”
Alastair Brown, Head of Direct Lending at Shard commented: “Thanks for the professional support of the entire Gateley team across all of the transactions that were worked on this year. Great support as ever”.