Tenzing agrees £30m buyout of FMP Global from Bond Software International plc

Tenzing is pleased to announce that it has received approval from the shareholders of Bond International Software plc for its £30m buyout of their payroll divisions (Bond HR and Payroll Software Limited, Bond Payroll Services Ltd and Eurowage Ltd, together “FMP Global”). The acquisition will be completed on 19th August 2016.

FMP Global will continue to be the UK independent market leader in International Payroll services, for its domestic clients FMP Global provides payroll bureau services and mission critical technology solutions to its UK payroll partners. The international payroll market is growing at c.15% per year and Tenzing will support the management team on continued investment into organic growth and will provide ongoing support to the acquisitions strategy.

Guy Gillon, Managing Partner at Tenzing, commented: “We are delighted to be able to partner with Justin Cottrell and a market leading management team. The International Payroll Services market is growing strongly and with the Group’s track record of innovation it is well placed to build on its impressive growth. We are excited about FMP having the freedom and independence now afforded to it allowing Justin and his team to realise their own and the company’s potential. We are relishing the challenges ahead and the enjoyment of the journey with the team at FMP.”

Justin Cottrell, CEO of FMP Global said “Tenzing shares our vision for the next stage of growth, their track record and acquisition support, tenacity shown throughout the process, support for the management and cultural fit with the business and our team made them the perfect partner for the next stage of the development of our business. We are excited about investing into the business, broadening our offering and continuing to drive service excellence for our clients and partners worldwide.”

Tenzing was advised by Catalyst Corporate Finance, Fairgrove Partners, Grant Thornton and Squires Patton Boggs. Christian Hamilton and Milan Kellner will represent Tenzing on the board on completion.

The buyout of FMP underlines Tenzing’s commitment to supporting buyouts of high growth independent market leaders and backing high energy, driven management teams and founders to accelerate their growth in the UK lower mid market.

For further information please contact:

Guy Gillon, Managing Partner

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3282 7560

Email: guy@tenzing.pe

Personal inspirations

After leaving school I managed to land a job collecting glasses in a pub in a ski resort, this was my first time in the Alps and started my love affair with the mountains. Around the same time, to add to the mystique of the mountains, my family moved into a house in an Essex village that, for many years, had been owned by Dr Charles Warren.

Hanging in the house was an ice axe, a gift to Charles from someone who had put his trust in him and whom Charles had trusted implicitly.

1935 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition

Precipitated by unexpected permission from Tibet, the 1935 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition was planned at short notice as a preliminary to an attempt on the summit of Mount Everest in 1936. Eric Shipton was appointed leader following his successful ‘trekking style’ of expedition to the Nanda Devi region in India in 1934.

Explicitly there was to be no summit attempt and supplementary oxygen was not going to be used. Charles Warren and Edmund Wigram, both Cambridge medics, Edwin Kempson a Cambridge mathematician, Michael Spender a surveyor and Dan Bryant, an ice climber from New Zealand agreed to take part. They engaged fourteen Sherpas but Shipton decided he needed perhaps a couple more and a nineteen-year-old was selected. He was completely inexperienced in mountaineering but was chosen according to Shipton largely because of his attractive grin, this was the first time that Charles Warren and Tenzing Norgay met.

The monsoon was unusually late that year and, beset by the weather little was achieved regarding the summit. However, a very large number of lesser peaks were climbed for the first time and a southern route up the Western Cwm was identified as a possible line of approach. The expedition would have considerable influence on post-war British efforts on Everest from Nepal, with Shipton himself leading the 1951 southern reconnaissance.

1938 British Mount Everest expedition

The 1938 British Mount Everest expedition was a low-key, low-cost expedition which was unlucky in encountering a very early monsoon. Leading British climbers of the day, Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman were to spearhead the expedition, Frank Smythe, Noel Odell, Peter Lloyd, Peter Oliver and again Charles Warren agreed to participate. Ang Tharkay was sirdar and Tenzing was one of the Sherpas. The weather conditions defeated the attempts to reach the summit. The North Col was climbed for the first time from the west and an altitude of 27,200 feet (8,300 m) was reached on the North Ridge.

Charles and Tenzing built a strong bond with each other and in 1953, when Tenzing visited Britain after climbing Everest with Edmund Hillary, he stayed with his old friend at Warren’s home in Felsted, Essex.

Tenzing Norgay

Tenzing was born and raised in Tengboche, Khumbu, in northeastern Nepal. Khumbu lies near Mount Everest, which the Tibetans and Sherpas call Chomolungma, which in standard Tibetan means “Holy Mother”, or the goddess of the summit. His exact date of birth is unknown, but he knew it was in late May by the weather and the crops and he was the 11th of 13 children.

63 years ago today

1953 British Mount Everest expedition was the ninth mountaineering expedition to attempt the first ascent of Mount Everest. The expedition totalled over 400 people, including 362 porters, 20 Sherpa guides, and 10,000 lbs of baggage, and like many such expeditions, was a team effort.

Edmund Hillary was part of the team and early in the expedition suffered a near-miss following a fall into a crevasse but was saved from hitting the bottom by Tenzing’s prompt action in securing the rope using his ice axe. This led Hillary to consider him the climbing partner of choice for any future summit attempt.

They reached Everest’s 29,028 ft (8,848 m) summit, the highest point on Earth, at 11:30 a.m. on 29th May 1953. They spent only about 15 minutes at the summit. Hillary took the famous photo of Tenzing posing with his ice-axe.

Hillary was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and Tenzing received the George Medal for his efforts on the expedition.

Tenzing and Hillary were the first people to set their feet on the summit of Mount Everest, but journalists were persistently repeating the question: “Which of the two men had the right to the glory of being the first one, and who was merely the second, the follower?” Colonel Hunt, the expedition leader, declared, “They reached it together, as a team.”

Although Hillary and Tenzing represented their triumph as belonging to a team effort by the whole of the expedition, there was intense speculation as to which of the two men had actually been first to set foot on the summit of Everest. In Kathmandu, a large banner depicted Tenzing pulling a “semi-conscious” Hillary to the summit. Tenzing eventually ended the speculation by revealing that Hillary had been first to the summit.

And in the world of private equity…

The traits, personality, ambitions and achievements of Tenzing Norgay underpin the culture and philosophies of our firm and have inspired our name. His life story and, above all his relationships with both Charles Warren and Sir Edmund Hillary, provide an analogy to guide our firm in our relationships with our portfolio companies, management teams and stakeholders. Supporting others to achieve their ambitions, no matter how great, using local knowledge built up over many years and generations, humbly ensuring that our partners gain the limelight they deserve and then working with new and equally inspiring teams on different challenges and approaches as they arrive is at our core.

Story by Guy Gillon.

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14th March 2016

Tenzing appoints Christian Hamilton, Partner from Inflexion, as Co-Managing Partner

Tenzing today announces the appointment of Christian Hamilton as Co-Managing Partner. Christian has left Inflexion to join Tenzing and will drive the firm and its investment strategy in high growth lower mid market buyouts, alongside Guy Gillon.

Christian brings with him considerable experience in market leading investments in the UK lower mid market and the growth as well as material hands on experience of Inflexion’s development from their inaugural £25m fund through to c.£1.8bn of AUM today. Christian was one of the longest serving of Inflexion’s investment team joining on the closing of their first buyout fund in 2003. He became a key member of the team that developed a market leading investment strategy for the UK lower mid market, and more recently Christian helped develop Inflexion’s Partnership Capital offering. Christian led a significant number of investments for Inflexion, most notably the 7.7x return for Reward Gateway and Inflexion’s record return for Aspen Pumps of 14x. In 2014 The Wall Street Journal named Christian as one of the 40 most influential young executives in European Private Equity.

Tenzing is focused on investing and supporting entrepreneurs and senior executive teams of high growth SMEs for buyouts between £10m-£50m. Tenzing invests across all sectors and completed investments in Fleetway (technology travel) and MBI (data, subscriptions and events) during 2015. Christian’s experience is core to delivering on our strategy and ambition to become the leading UK lower mid market investor.

Guy Gillon, Managing Partner at Tenzing, commented “Since 2007, when I first started working with Christian, it was clear to me that we shared many of the same philosophies on how to approach the lower mid market and the culture and people strategies required to achieve Tenzing’s ambition. He brings with him vast experience, an extensive and trusted network, an exceptional track record and most importantly tremendous ambition and drive. We are proud and delighted to welcome Christian to Tenzing and are very excited about continuing to build our firm with him.”

Christian Hamilton commented “It’s been an absolute privilege to work at Inflexion alongside amazing colleagues, entrepreneurs and investors for the last 12 years. I am extremely excited about joining the Tenzing team who are both focused on what is the most dynamic and high growth part of the buyout market and have a culture and philosophy that I am passionate about.”

Ends…..

For further information please contact:

Guy Gillon, Managing Partner

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3282 7560

Email: guy@tenzing.pe

Christian Hamilton, Managing Partner

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3282 7560

Email: christian@tenzing.pe

Synova and Tenzing acquire specialist online travel platform

Synova Capital LLP (“Synova”), an award winning investor into UK growth companies and Tenzing PE Limited (“Tenzing”) are pleased to announce the acquisition of Fleetway Travel Limited (“Fleetway”, the “Company” or the “Business”) a leading online provider of exclusive luxury travel deals. Synova and Tenzing have invested alongside the existing directors, James Clarke and Ben Braude. Ian Coghlan (previously CEO of both Abercrombie & Kent and SAGA Travel) joins the Business as Executive Chairman.

Fleetway has developed a unique and highly disruptive model providing hotels and airlines with the strategic capabilities to manage supply and enhance yield throughout seasonal periods, whilst delivering exceptional value for money and service to its customers. The Business trades across the Fleetway, Luxury Holiday Collection and Exclusive Luxury Breaks brands. Key online partners include Travelzoo and Secret Escapes.

Commenting on the transaction, Alex Bowden, a Partner at Synova and a Director of Fleetway, said: “We believe the technology-led offering provides significant growth opportunities as a sophisticated distribution platform for travel operators; our plan will focus on delivering further UK penetration as well as rolling the product offering out internationally. We are delighted to be supporting James and Ben, in partnership with the operational experience and leadership of Ian Coghlan and the wider team at Tenzing, with the next phase of Fleetway’s development.”

Ian Coghlan, Executive Chairman of Fleetway and Tenzing Partner, commented: “I am delighted to be joining Fleetway as Executive Chairman. Fleetway has carved itself a unique position in the travel deals market and delivers amazing value and excellent customer service. Their innovative use of technology and superb relationships with their suppliers provide a solid platform from which to build the business. We are very excited about the future developments and I look forward to helping the management team and Synova to achieve their ambitious goals.”

-Ends-

Notes:

1. Synova invests in UK growth opportunities with a particular focus on companies valued at between £5m and £50m. Key verticals include Business Services, Financial Services, Technology, Consumer and Healthcare & Education. Synova Partners, Alex Bowden and David Menton, will both serve as Directors of Fleetway. Further information on Synova is available from www.synova-capital.com.
2. Tenzing is a strategic investor in lower mid market challenger businesses; businesses that can transform themselves and disrupt the market in which they operate. Tenzing looks to support, inspire and invest alongside high energy, high performance management teams. Tenzing Partners, Guy Gillon and Ian Coghlan, will both serve as Directors of Fleetway. Further information on Tenzing is available from www.tenzing.pe.
3. PwC provided financial, commercial and IT due diligence to Synova with Pinsent Masons providing legal advice. Regulatory due diligence was provided by The Travel Trade Consultancy with Spectrum Corporate Finance advising on the acquisition facility.
4. The Acquisition Finance team at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, led by Steve Carr, provided a package of senior debt facilities to support the transaction.
5. Please see www.fleetwaytravel.com for more details on Fleetway.

For further information:

Synova Capital LLP

Alex Bowden, Partner Tel: +44 (0)20 3475 7660

Email: info@synova-capital.com

Fleetway Travel Limited

Ian Coghlan, Executive Chairman Tel: +44 (0) 20 3282 7560

Email: ian@tenzing.pe

Tenzing PE Limited

Guy Gillon, Partner Tel: +44 (0) 20 3282 7560

Email: guy@tenzing.pe