ECI Partners

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ECI Partners
IndustryPrivate equity
Founded1976; 46 years ago (1976)
HeadquartersLondon, Manchester and New York
ProductsPrivate equity funds, Buyouts
Websitewww.ecipartners.com

ECI Partners is a growth focused private equity group based in the UK and the US, first established by the Bank of England in 1976.[1]

ECI typically invests up to £100m of equity (as part of an initial transaction) in businesses valued at up to £300m[2]

It was a founder member of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association in 1983 having organised its first management buyout (for Ansafone) in 1980. In the first decade of ECI's investment they were active across a range of investments including syndicated transactions; early investments included Williams Holdings – owner of Chubb and Kidd – founded by Nigel Rudd and Brian McGowan, and Shanks & McEwan.

From the start of the 1990s (ECI 4) the exclusive focus became UK mid-market buyouts investing in the likes of National Express and Bloomsbury Publishing.

The turn of the millennium saw ECI raise ECI 7 with leading growth investments including Thinkmoney and LateRooms.

In July 2018 ECI announced the first and final closing of its eleventh buyout fund, ECI 11.[3] ECI launched the fundraise mid-April 2018 with a target fund size of £650m and closed at the hard cap of £700m less than three months later.[4] ECI 11 was raised without using any placement agent support.

Investments[]

Investments have included CIPHR,[5] Mobysoft,[6] CSL,[7] KB Associates,[8] Peoplesafe,[9] Travel Chapter,[10] Moneypenny,[11] 4Ways, Arkessa, The Clear Group, Bionic, Content+Cloud,[12] Imagesound (a leading supplier of audio and screen media),[13] Tusker,[14] Investis Digital,[15] Auction Technology Group,[16] and Avantia, a leading online home insurance company that trades under the HomeProtect brand.[17]

Exits[]

In November 2020, ECI exited MPM generating a return of 4.4x.[18]

In February 2020, ECI exited both Encore Tickets, sold to TodayTix[19] and Auction Technology Group, in a secondary buyout delivering 3.7x money.

ECI exited mthree in December 2019, selling to Wiley (publisher) and generating a return of over 100% IRR.[20]

In June 2018 ECI announced the sale of Great Rail Journeys, generating a 3.6x return.[21]

In June 2017 ECI sold Kelvin Hughes to Hensoldt, (formerly Airbus Defence Electronics), which generated a 3.3x return.[22]

In February 2017 ECI announced the sale of Clarke Energy to Kohler Co[23] for a reported £300m[24]

The sale of Reed & Mackay[25] (premium corporate travel company) in August 2016 was ECI's 100th exit since 1990, and generated a multiple of 3.4x cost to investors.

In February 2016, ECI sold Citation, a provider of HR, employment law, and health & safety solutions to 16,000 SMEs, to HGCapital[26] for a reported £185m.[27] generating a 5.4x return on its investment.[28]

In June 2015 it sold Fourth Hospitality, a restaurant management software firm to Insight Venture Partners.[29]

In February 2015 ECI sold Wireless Logic, an M2M managed service provider, to CVC Capital Partners generating 6.1x money return.[30]

In October 2014 ECI sold XLN Telecom to the company's management and Blackstone's credit business GSO Capital Partners generating a 3x return on its investment.[31]

In March 2014 ECI sold CarTrawler to BC Partners for a reported €450m,[32] returning 6x money to investors.[33]

In February 2014 ECI sold M2 Digital to The Rigby Group through its technology brand SCC (Specialist Computer Centres).[34]

ECI sold healthcare IT company Ascribe to AIM-listed clinical software supplier EMIS Health Group in September 2013 generating a 2.1x return.[35]

ECI Growth Survey[]

The ECI Growth Survey[36] is the only survey in the UK focused exclusively on growth companies. It was launched in 2010 to give owners and directors of growth companies an opportunity to voice their opinion and influence the economic debate. A number of influential figures have been involved in the survey over the years including Mark Prisk, Karan Bilimoria, Baron Bilimoria, Howard Davies, Sir Danny Alexander,[37] Carolyn Fairbairn,[38] Sir John Timpson,[39] and most recently Philip Shaw, Chief Economist at Investec.[40]

References[]

  1. ^ "Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin Volume 16 1976 page 301" (PDF). Bank of England.
  2. ^ "Who We Are". ecipartners.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Fast growth is attraction as ECI raises record fund". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. ^ "ECI Partners raises £700m for its 11th growth fund | TheBusinessDesk.com". North West. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  5. ^ "ECI announces investment in CIPHR". www.ecipartners.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  6. ^ "ECI announce investment in predictive analytics software business Mobysoft". www.ecipartners.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  7. ^ "ECI invests in CSL". www.ecipartners.com. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Dublin investment consultancy KB Associates secures major investment". www.irishtimes.com. The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  9. ^ "ECI backs lone worker protection firm". Insider Media. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Holiday Cottages owner Travel Chapter sold to new private equity investor". TTG. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Moneypenny founders Ed Reeves and Rachel Clacher take investor's call". The Times. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  12. ^ "ECI snaps up stake in IT firm behind McLaren supercars". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  13. ^ "ECI tunes into in- store music group". Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  14. ^ "ECI Partners invests in Tusker". Fleet News. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  15. ^ "ECI backs Investis to accelerate its growth strategy". UK Business Angels Association. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  16. ^ "ECI to buy antiques bible maker ATG". The Telegraph. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  17. ^ "ECI Partners underpins £57m Avantia buy-out". The Telegraph. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  18. ^ "ECI's MPM exit delivers a 4.4x return". www.privateequitywire.co.uk. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  19. ^ "TodayTix acquires Encore, the leading independent theatre ticket distribution network in Europe". Great Hill Partners. 2 February 2020.
  20. ^ https://www.unquote.com/uk/official-record/3017763/eci-sells-mthree-to-trade-after-18-months
  21. ^ "Equity firm to embark on £100m travel deal". The Sunday Times. 30 June 2018.
  22. ^ "A strong return is on the radar for one private equity firm as Hensoldt snaps up surveillance business Kelvin Hughes". CityA.M. 29 June 2017.
  23. ^ "ECI more than doubles money on exit of Clarke Energy to Kohler". Real Deals. 2 February 2017.
  24. ^ Dunkley, Daniel (4 December 2016). "Green energy tycoon to make £150m from sale". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  25. ^ "ECI and Livingbridge reap 3.4x on Reed & Mackay exit". Unquote. 4 August 2016.
  26. ^ "ECI makes 5.4x on Citation sale to HgCapital". Real Deals. 15 February 2016.
  27. ^ "Fast growing Citation is snapped up by Hg Capital for £185m". AlManchester Evening News. 15 February 2016.
  28. ^ Louch, William. "ECI Nets 5.4x Return on Business Service Provider". penews.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  29. ^ "RESTAURANT SOFTWARE PROVIDER BOUGHT BY US FIRM". 24 June 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  30. ^ Hammond, Jack (10 February 2015). "ECI scores 6.1x return through CVC's acquisition of Wireless Logic | AltAssets Private Equity News". Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  31. ^ "ECI reaps 3x on XLN exit". Unquote. 6 October 2014.
  32. ^ Bow, Michael (25 March 2014). "BC Partners drives away with CarTrawler in €450m buyout". cityam.com. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  33. ^ "ECI reaps 6x in sale of CarTrawler to BC Partners | Unquote". unquote.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  34. ^ "Print services firm M2 Digital bought by SCC". 18 February 2014.
  35. ^ "ECI makes 2.1x on Ascribe exit". Unquote. 13 September 2013.
  36. ^ "Keep the single market and access to EU workers, Britain's high-growth companies plea". The Telegraph. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  37. ^ "Fast-growing companies opposed to leaving EU, says ECI Partners survey". yorkshirepost.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  38. ^ Gill, Oliver (30 August 2016). "Gazelles chase growth despite Brexit vote". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  39. ^ Begum, Shelina (29 August 2017). "Gazelles' shrugging off Brexit uncertainties". men. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  40. ^ "UK growth companies bucking the trend says ECI Growth Survey 2018". Angel News. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""