Benchmark International’s UK team were the proud recipients of the ‘Deal of the Year (Sub £5m)’ award at the Insider Dealmaker Awards 2013, held at Manchester Central, Thursday 24 October 2013.

Benchmark International has successfully advised the shareholders of Netplan Internet Solutions on the sale of the company to Daily Internet for an initial sum of £2.5m, with additional deferred and performance-related elements due after 12 months.

Established in 2000, Netplan provides internet infrastructure as a service (IaaS), focusing on high security, e-commerce and cloud-based infrastructures. The company’s primary co-location facility is in London Docklands and the company also has a number of data centres including one in Coventry.

Netplan currently has a database of 840 customers and for the year to 30 September 2012 it's audited accounts show an EBITDA of £320,000 on a turnover of £1.1m.

Founded in 2006, Nottingham-based Daily provides web-hosting services. Daily is funding the acquisition with a placing to investors on the London Stock Exchange’s growth market, the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The acquisition represents a strategic move by Daily to gain increased product reach and a strong foothold in its target markets.

Benchmark International’s Managing Director (UK), James Thornton, commented, “The UK web-hosting sector is particularly buoyant at present and our highly targeted marketing efforts to both UK and overseas acquirers generated significant levels of interest, particularly from trade acquirers seeking to gain an increased market share.”

Commenting on the role Benchmark International played, Stuart Gibson (Netplan’s main shareholder) said, “Benchmark delivered everything they promised. From gaining a thorough understanding of the business, they presented it to a host of strategic buyers, generating a lot of interest and allowing us to choose the most suitable buyer for ourselves, the company and its fantastic workforce”.

Working closely with Benchmark International’s Corporate Finance team, particularly in the latter stages of the transaction, he added, “Benchmark stood by us every step of the way, guiding us through some intense negotiations with Daily and it's advisers. The team’s help ensured that the deal was completed on terms which were satisfactory to all parties and we look forward to working with Daily’s management team going forward.”

Benchmark International would like to thank everyone involved in the deal and wish them the very best of luck for the future.

Benchmark International Corporate Finance Director, Nick Hulme, will be speaking at Insider’s Finance for Growth Breakfast to be held on Thursday 24^th October 2013 in Manchester.

North West-based drain and sewer specialist, Underground Vision (UK) Limited (UGV & the Company) has been acquired by Torenvalk Group BV (Torenvalk), a Dutch-based trade acquirer for an undisclosed value consisting of cash and shares issued on completion.

Established in 2007, UGV has grown to become one of the largest independent drain and sewer operations in the UK. The Company has developed a strong reputation, providing domestic and commercial clients, including several blue-chips, with an exceptionally high standard of service utilising cutting-edge technologies.

The opportunity to acquire UGV generated a wealth of interest from both UK and international trade and private equity acquirers. From the interest generated, the Shareholders identified Torenvalk as representing the strongest fit for the Company. The Dutch-based company has operated within the drainage industry, managed by the Van Der Valk family, for over 50 years.

With the French and German markets possessing fairly significant barriers to entry, the Shareholders of Torenvalk, which has existing operations in the Belgian and UK drain and sewer industries, identified the UK as a market within which they wanted to strengthen Torenvalk’s presence.

Following the acquisition, UGV’s Shareholders will continue to manage the Company’s operations supplemented by additional resources, provided by Torenvalk, to further develop UGV’s UK market share. The extra resources will help the Company fulfill contracts it previously did not have the capacity to accept.

Commenting on the deal, James Thornton, Benchmark International Managing Director stated, “This deal is going to greatly benefit both parties with Underground Vision set to gain greater competitive advantage due to increased resources and Torenvalk further strengthening their UK market presence. Our clients have been a pleasure to work with throughout and I’m extremely pleased that they have been able to achieve a fantastic deal.”

Also discussing the deal, UGV Director, Brad Commins stated, “Both myself and Anthony are really pleased that we can now continue managing Underground Vision backed with sufficient capital to take the company on to the next level. Torenvalk represents a superb fit and we are now really looking forward to working with them to build upon our success to date. I would also like to thank everyone involved at Benchmark International who really helped us throughout this process. They turned out to be a vital factor in such a successful deal.”

Benchmark International would like to thank all parties involved and we wish them all the very best of luck for the future.

As M&A specialists we are asked one question significantly more often than any other . . .  ‘How much is my business worth?’ Most business owners expect us to give a definitive answer, however, the simple fact is that whilst a tentative valuation can be placed on a company, the acquirer and the manner in which it is sold largely determine its value.

It appears that many buyers are currently on the prowl, attempting to bag bargain acquisitions by exploiting business owners blinded by multi-million Dollar cheques and disadvantaged by a lack of advice from a seasoned M&A professional.