Shearman & Sterling has advised European private equity group Bridgepoint on its £212m acquisition of Moneycorp, a foreign exchange provider, owned by SOF Investments which was advised by Slaughter and May.
UK-based Moneycorp sells foreign currency to small businesses and consumers, with 10 stores and 61 airport locations. It benefitted from a withdrawal of services provided by high street banks and took advantage of Thomas Cook’s debt burden in 2013 to acquire the travel group’s foreign exchange business.
The company recorded £97.2m in revenue in 2013, up on the £65.2m it registered the previous year. It expects the UK international payments market to grow by 11% year-on-year as customers switch away from banks.
London-based private equity partners Simon Burrows and Mark Soundy of Shearman & Sterling advised Bridgepoint on the deal. Slaughter and May’s corporate partner David Johnson, who recently advised Punch Taverns on its last ditch success in restructuring £2.3bn worth of debt, advised SOF Investments. Johnson was supported on the deal by Slaughters’ associates James Kaye and Sam Whittaker.
Charles Russell advised Moneycorp’s management on the deal, with corporate partner Mark Howard and employment partner David Green taking the lead.
Mark Horgan, chief exec at Moneycorp, said: ‘We are setting out to make Moneycorp the first choice in international payments and foreign exchange in the UK and now also have the opportunity to realise our broader ambitions and to grow internationally with Bridgepoint.’
Tom.moore@legalease.co.uk
