Manchester-based business advisory
firm Quantuma has completed a merger with AIM-listed K3 Capital Group plc (AIM: K3C), for an initial consideration of £26.95m, to create an independent global advisory practice.
The merger will help K3 to build
a more diverse professional services group with enhanced capabilities in restructuring, corporate finance, tax advisory, forensic accounting and expert witness services. The deal sees a cash free, debt free initial consideration of £26.95m, in addition to
maximum combined earn outs of £15m and an additional 645,513 growth shares.
Quantuma, which was set up in
Southampton in 2013 by Carl Jackson, expanded into Manchester in March 2019 and has since grown to the firm’s sixth largest office. The firm has grown to become a £23m turnover business, with 250 staff across 17 UK locations. It also operates from three international
offices in Cyprus and Mauritius.
Established in 1998, Bolton-based
K3 is a multi-disciplinary professional services firm providing advisory services to SMEs. It quoted on AIM in 2017 and has seen its market capitalisation more than double in the last three years.
K3 recently acquired Derby-based
R&D tax credit specialists Randd UK Ltd, in an £11.6m deal.
Quantuma CEO Carl Jackson will
join the K3 board as an executive director.
Rob Parry, managing director at
Quantuma, said: “This
is a significant milestone for both K3 and Quantuma. The combination of high quality businesses will provide an independent and compelling proposition in the mid-market.
“Demand for Quantuma’s services
is already high and we anticipate this gathering pace as the government withdraws its Covid-related financial support. Becoming part of a listed plc will enable us to take on more significant mandates and provide greater access to larger corporates, both at
home and overseas.
“This is very much business as
usual for Quantuma. We will continue to develop our cross-border capabilities and are in advanced talks with a number of lateral hires to further strengthen our UK team.”
John Rigby, CEO at K3 Capital
Group plc, said: “Our
strategic vision is to develop a group of high performing businesses offering a range of complementary advisory services to SMEs and their stakeholders.
“Quantuma has developed a strong
brand and has an impressive growth story. We’re delighted to be working alongside the firm’s like-minded and entrepreneurial senior leadership team. Together, our intention is to continue to invest in the group to enable us to drive organic growth by leveraging our client acquisition strategies, whilst also developing further revenue streams via a series of strategic acquisitions and lateral hires.”
