M&A Deal Summary

ECI Partners Acquires Evans Cycles

On May 1, 2015, private equity firm ECI Partners acquired retailer Evans Cycles from Active Partners for 110M GBP

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is ECI Partners’ 4th transaction in the Retail sector.
  • This is ECI Partners’ largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is ECI Partners’ 49th transaction in the United Kingdom.
Investment Fate
  • Evans Cycles was sold to a publicly-traded strategic buyer in 2018.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2015-05-01
Target Evans Cycles
Sector Retail
Buyer(s) ECI Partners
Sellers(s) Active Partners
Deal Type Secondary Buyout
Deal Value 110M GBP

Target

Evans Cycles

Crawley, United Kingdom
F.W. Evans Cycles (UK) Ltd. is an operator of specialist cycling retailer. F.W. Evans Cycles (UK) Ltd. was founded in 1921 and is based in Crawley, United Kingdom.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

ECI Partners

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1976
PE ASSETS 2.0B GBP
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

ECI Partners is a private equity firm focused on the smaller middle-market company that invests in growing businesses valued up to £300m. ECI looks for UK businesses or businesses with a substantial presence in the UK. Funds are generally used to support expansion, acquisitions, management buyouts, buy-ins, turnarounds, and refinancing. Target sectors include IT services, support services, Insurance, and SME services. ECI will not invest in early-stage companies. ECI Partners was formed in 1976 and has offices in London, Manchester, and New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 53 of 78
Sector (Retail) 4 of 4
Type (Secondary Buyout) 10 of 20
Country (United Kingdom) 49 of 73
Year (2015) 2 of 2
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 12
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-02-19 Tusker

Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Tusker is a car benefit scheme provider. As a digital B2B2C business, it supports employers in retaining staff and enhancing employee engagement by providing employees with a salary-saving scheme to access a new, fully insured, and maintained car. Tusker’s cars are also a great way to go green, with 80% of new orders for electric cars. Tusker was founded in 2000 and is based in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-06-24 Fourth

Austin, Texas, United States

Fourth is a cloud-based (SaaS) provider of hospitaliy management systems. Fourth was founded in 1999 and is based in Austin, Texas.

Sell -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Active Partners

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Growth Capital Firm
Founded 2004
Size Small
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

Active Partners is a private investment firm focused on investing in growth-oriented, consumer centric companies. Active looks to commit £5 to £15 million in UK-based companies. The Firm will consider both majority or minority positions. Active Partners was established in 2004 and is headquartered in London.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 1
Sector (Retail) 1 of 1
Type (Secondary Buyout) 1 of 1
Country (United Kingdom) 1 of 1
Year (2015) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-01-19 Honest Burgers

London, United Kingdom

Honest Burgers is an operator of chain of restaurants. It is a burger restaurant inspired by great british produce offering Lunch and Dinner. Honest Burgers is based in London, United Kingdom.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-05-23 Leon Restaurants

London, United Kingdom

Leon Restaurants is an operator of fast-food restaurants. It serves Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Coffee, and Drinks. Leon Restaurants was founded in 2004 and is based in London, United Kingdom.

Buy -
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