ACQUISITION: RSS Global

Twenty20 Capital, the leading dedicated investor in the staffing and workforce solutions sector, has invested in acquiring six of the UK’s best-known staffing and workforce solutions brands, bringing them together under the new brand RSS Global.

The company’s brands include high-street names Blue Arrow, Career Teachers, Chadwick Nott, Global Medics, Medacs Healthcare, Litmus and Tate. They supply temporary and permanent staffing across the logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, health and care, legal and education sectors.

Rebecca Watson, who led the brands under their previous owner Impellam PLC, joins the Twenty20 family as Chief Executive of RSS Global.

Tristan Ramus founder and Investment Principal commented: “This is a significant milestone for Twenty20 Capital, and for RSS Global, as we join forces to continue their growth into the future and to build on the heritage of some of the most well-known and well-respected brands in the staffing and workforce solutions sector.”

Tristan and the Twenty20 Capital team recognised the huge potential in RSS Global as a natural fit for their investment approach of supporting management teams of human capital businesses to re-ignite future growth and success.

Rebecca Watson, Chief Executive of RSS Global, said: “I am delighted to lead these remarkable brands under the newly formed RSS Global and to join the Twenty20 Capital family. The Twenty20 team are a great fit, hugely ambitious and will be a tremendous support to us as we begin the next stage of our journey.

“This will see us continue to grow our size and scale and innovate our services, as well as reinforcing our valuable ongoing relationships with our clients. I would like to thank all my teams within the brands for their dedication and enthusiasm and we look forward to an exciting future together at Twenty20 Capital .”

The investment and acquisition of RSS Global adds more than £600m of revenue to Twenty20’s growing portfolio of businesses, bringing total revenues managed to more than £1.5bn.

The intended transaction was announced by Impellam PLC in February and completed on 3 March. The transaction was advised by Dahren Naidoo at Freeth’s and Close Brothers was used as funding partners alongside T20 Capital.

About RSS Global

RSS Global is a portfolio of brands specialising in staffing and workforce solutions in the UK, Ireland and Asia Pacific.

Brands include Blue Arrow, Career Teachers, Chadwick Nott, Global Medics, Litmus, Medacs Healthcare and Tate. Individually and together they support the needs and ambitions of our clients across the catering, education, financial, healthcare, industrial, legal, logistics, manufacturing, professional services, public sector and retail sectors.

The changing world of work brings exciting opportunities and RSS Global looks to a future of partnering with clients to create innovative new products and services.

EXIT: TALOS360

TALOS360 MARKS NEXT MAJOR MILESTONE AS IT PARTNERS WITH LDC

Talos360, an award-winning provider of human capital management (HCM) solutions, has chosen to partner with leading mid-market private equity firm LDC to support the next stage of its growth journey.

The company, which was co-founded by Stephen Rundell and Tomas Coulter in 2009, is one of the UK’s fastest growing HR technology provider. Its proprietary recruitment and engagement technology helps businesses to better attract, recruit and retain talent, and it is a trusted partner to more than 700 businesses. Customers range from SMEs to blue chip organisations, and include household names such as Easyhotel, The Entertainer, Homebase, Graham & Brown and Purplebricks.

Talos360 has become a market leader in SaaS talent solutions through the quality of its product and the service its team provides. It has also built a reputation as a people-first business through its commitment to supporting employees. This was independently recognised earlier this year when Talos360 was named the fifth best workplace in tech by Great Place to Work.

Today, Talos360 employs more than 120 people at its headquarters in Warrington. It has grown rapidly in recent years, ending 2021 with increased revenue of 56% – which includes a 94% increase in tech revenues – and is on target to finish 2022 with a turnover of more than £10m.

LDC is backing the existing management team, led by CEO Janette Martin and Co-Founder Stephen Rundell, to support their organic growth strategy and explore complementary acquisitions. Financial details of the transaction are undisclosed, and it provides an exit for existing investor Tristan Ramus and his team at Twenty20 Capital.

With LDC’s support, Janette and the team will be able to further invest in product development and continue to evolve its proposition for the benefit of new and existing customers. The partnership will also enable the team to create further opportunities for employees and it plans to create more than 50 new jobs by 2025.

The investment was led by John Clarke, Investment Director at LDC in the North West. He was supported by Investment Managers Camilla Greenwood and Grant Goodwin, and Dale Alderson, Partner and Head of LDC in the North West.

Both John and Dale will join the board as Non-Executive Directors, alongside Chris Herrmannsen, Founder of global talent acquisition and management business Ochre House, who joins as Non-Executive Chair.

Stephen Rundell, Co-Founder of Talos360, said: “We’re really proud of the business we’ve built, and I’d like to thank Tristan and the team at Twenty20 Capital for helping us to get to where we are today. As we look to the next stage of our strategy, we see huge potential for continued growth and with the team’s track record and sector expertise we’re confident LDC is the partner to help us tap into this.

“We also wanted a partner who would be a good cultural fit. Our people are our most important asset and to have a partner that mirrors the characteristics we look for in our own employees – caring, genuine and down to earth – was key for us.”

Janette Martin, CEO at Talos360, added: “I am incredibly excited about our partnership with LDC. We share a passion for developing people-first, high-growth businesses and I can’t wait to have the team join us at the boardroom table. From day one, it was clear that LDC is an investment partner that backs management teams and supports their strategy, which is exactly how we want to work.

“I’m so proud of what we have achieved so far and there is no doubt that we have an incredible opportunity ahead of us. Our amazing team is brimming with ideas, and we’re looking forward to what we can bring to both existing and new customers. To have a partner that will add value and support us along the way is exactly what we were looking for.”

John Clarke, Investment Director at LDC, said: “Talos360 is a fantastic business and the management team’s strategy of putting its people and customers first has enabled them to build an enviable proposition within the market. There’s a real opportunity to build on this, enabling the business to support more customers with their talent strategies, and we’re looking forward to supporting Janette, Stephen and the wider team on their journey.”

LDC has a strong heritage of supporting the growth of HR SaaS businesses. The private equity firm successfully backed the growth plans of workforce management software specialist Mitrefinch, helping the management team to double revenues and increase employee numbers by 64 per cent during its four-year partnership. It also supported HCM software solutions provider CIPHR during a four-year partnership, helping the management team to double its headcount and drive a compound annual revenue growth of more than 25 per cent.

Janette Martin has recently been named one of LDC’s Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders of 2022. This follows her being recognised as The Optima Talent Tech Leader of the Year at The TIARA Talent Tech Star Awards, where Talos360 was also awarded The Talent Tech Scale-Up Award in recognition of the company’s growth.

Houlihan Lokey (Dominic Orsini, James Grundy, Matt Doyle and Ben Levett-Dunn) both originated and acted as lead adviser on the transaction, providing corporate finance advice to Talos360. Legal advice was provided by Addleshaw Goddard.

LDC was advised by GP Bullhound (corporate finance) and DWF (legals).

INVESTMENT: Animoca

As part of our alternative investment strategy, we have invested through Kingsway Capital joining KKR and Soros in a $500m funding round to support the growth of Animoca Brands.

Animoca is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification, and is working to advance digital property rights. Being a Deloitte Tech Fast winner and ranked in the Financial Times list of High Growth Companies Asia-Pac 2021, they have a growing portfolio of more than 200 investments in NFT-related companies and decentralised projects that are contributing to building the open metaverse. Animoca are owners of The Sandbox and Power Rangers, and have broad licensing of brand for the metaverse to include Snoop Dog, Formula E, and the Adams family to name a few.

The Metaverse Continuum will transform how businesses interact with customers, how work is done, what products and services companies offer, how they make and distribute them, and how they operate their organisations. The ‘digital twin market’, valued at $3.21bn in 2020 is expected to reach $184.5bn by 2030 according to Accenture.

Twenty 20 Capital’s chairman Tristan Ramus says “This investment puts Twenty 20 Capital at the birth of a new sustainable and high growth asset class which is going to disrupt the world of work: revolutionise learning; change job interviews; transform home working; speed up the adoption of crypto; create new jobs –as part of our ESG commitment to drive health and wellbeing; increase education opportunities; drive gender equality and contribute to decent work and economic growth. We believe this asset class is leading the way”.

INVESTMENT: MP Alpha Capital

Twenty20 Capital launches new $20 million hedge fund with MP Alpha Capital — making a cornerstone investment into their “post-COVID-19” hedge fund.

MP Alpha Capital was founded by John Phillips and Damien Miller with the objective of creating a hybrid and asymmetrical fund mixing digital assets and equities, for the post-pandemic world.

$20m has successfully been secured during their first fundraising round, enabling the fund to go live in the AKJ Ecosystem — a fully digital hedge fund management service.

This strategic partnership enables Twenty20 Capital to diversify its portfolio further.

Tristan Ramus, Founder of Twenty20 Capital, commented: “Our teams are incredibly passionate about diversifying the company’s portfolio and driving exponential growth. We’re bold in our decision-making and use our unbeatable expertise to achieve the best results, which is exactly how we approached this collaboration with MP Alpha Capital.

“As our portfolio of businesses expands and we continue to manage assets in excess of £1bn, we’re excited to develop this strategic partnership with MP Alpha Capital. Making a cornerstone investment into the fund will enable us to diversify the company’s portfolio and provide a hedge on risk.”

Damien Miller, Founding Partner of MP Alpha Capital, commented: “Twenty20 Capital will bring a wealth of expertise across a wide spectrum of sectors, including M&A and debt advisory.

“We look forward to a prosperous partnership as we continue to explore the world of innovation and digital assets in the post-pandemic landscape.”

The AKJ group of companies (AKJ) provides a full-service ecosystem for hedge fund managers. The group, established in 1995, serves hedge fund and institutional clients in 35 countries around the world and is owned by shareholders with over US$18 billion in assets under management.

Gunnar Detlie, CEO of AKJ Investment Management, comments: “Given our unique position and extensive experience working with high-quality funds in both crypto and traditional markets, we are excited to be supporting the launch of MP Alpha Capital, the first hybrid fund on our platform.”

The fund is now closed for new subscriptions but may reopen next year, subject to market conditions.

ACQUISITION: HCRG Care Group

Twenty20 Capital has acquired the former Virgin Care company from the Virgin Group, rebranding it as HCRG Care Group.

Under the leadership of Dr Vivienne McVey, the newly named HCRG Care Group has evolved to become a respected and trusted partner in the provision of high quality and excellent value health and care services, making a positive difference to millions of people across the country.

This transaction helps enable the business to develop additional services that enhance both the quality of provision and the value given back to health and care commissioners.

A Twenty20 Capital spokesperson says: “The acquisition of Virgin Care and rebranding to HCRG Care Group represents an opportunity to support a strong management team and broader workforce to deliver critical health and care services across the community. As an investor in healthcare services for more than 20 years, Twenty20 Capital is excited to support the company’s plans building on its strong market position, whilst growing its services to provide outstanding service to customers.”

Dr Vivienne McVey, CEO of HCRG Care Group says “Whilst we have a new name, as HCRG Care Group it remains business as usual – our team will continue to focus on changing lives by transforming health and care working with commissioners, communities and our hard-working frontline colleagues to deliver joined-up, efficient but above all high-quality services.”

This acquisition is Twenty20 Capital’s seventh transaction this year and its fourth acquisition in the health and social services sector adding c. £260m of revenues to its growing portfolio of businesses.

TEAM: Chris Wolfe-Elder joins Twenty20 Capital as Investment Manager

We are delighted to welcome Chris to the team. Chris has a corporate finance lending, risk and compliance background and will be responsible for driving forward advisory services at Twenty20 Capital. Chris brings with him a wealth of knowledge in disputes and commercial lending.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Close Brothers

Close Brothers is a leading UK merchant banking group offering lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading. As a FTSE250 company, they employ over 3,000 people, principally in the UK, and are listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Twenty20 Capital is proud to have worked with Close Brothers to conclude a number of pivotal deals, the most recent being that of the Cordant Group, a provider of international workforce based solutions.

Acquisitions, supported by Close Brothers, have contributed to Twenty20 Capital’s phenomenal growth over the last 4 years. Watch the video below to find out more from our very own Tristan Ramus, Chairman and Principal Founder, and Jamie Webb, Chief Investment Officer.

EXIT: CRG Homecare and Allied Healthcare

Twenty20 Capital transfers ownership of homecare services group, CRG Homecare and Allied Healthcare

HCRG (Health Care Resourcing Group), the market-leading recruitment group, has sold its homecare provider businesses CRG Homecare and Allied Healthcare.

HCRG acquired Allied Healthcare in 2018 when it was on the brink of financial collapse. Following a swift turnaround and investment in people, Twenty20 Capital successfully merged Allied with its existing homecare brand (CRG Homecare), focussing on increasing its CQC rating, quality and growing group profitability. Both businesses now have a total revenue of £75m, establishing the group as one of the top five homecare businesses in the UK.

Operating throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the merger of the two businesses saw care worker hours increase to 80,000 per week. Twenty20 Capital’s core investment philosophy of supporting and augmenting the management team to execute challenging strategic and operational decisions created a highly attractive, scaled and profitable platform in this sector.

HCRG is part of Twenty20 Capital, who agreed the final sale which has created the second largest homecare provider in the country and provided strong returns for management and shareholders.

Ian Munro, group CEO and founder at HCRG, said: “We are delighted to announce the sale of our homecare group (comprising of CRG Homecare and Allied Healthcare). After acquiring Allied Healthcare, we worked closely with the management team and were quickly able to return the business to breakeven trading and successfully raised the CQC rating and drove a plan to merge it with our CRG Homecare business. This increased profitability and allowed us to proudly support the UK community by delivering outstanding care services during the toughest months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been a real success story in a challenging market.”

Tristan Ramus, chairman at Twenty20 Capital, said: “Twenty20 Capital is proud to be able to announce the transfer of ownership of our homecare group. Having acquired Allied Healthcare, on the brink of insolvency, the business has been transformed during our period of ownership. The core principles of Twenty20 Capital’s investment philosophy have driven an outstanding shareholder return in under three years. Supporting and augmenting the management team to execute challenging strategic and operational decisions has created a highly attractive, scaled and profitable platform in this highly competitive homecare services market.”

EXIT: CRG Medical Services

CRG Medical Services has been part of the HCRG group since 2017.  In August 2021, we were delighted to be able to support the incumbent CEO, Chris Bailes, with an MBO of the business. We wish the business every success under Chris’ management.

EXIT: CRG Clinical Services

Having held the CRG Clinical Services asset for 3 years we are delighted with our strategic exit to Polaris Medical.  Polaris Medical operate in the same sector and will provide CRG Clinical Services with a strong platform for investment and growth.

EXIT: PMP Recruitment

Twenty20 Capital signs agreement to transfer ownership of high volume business, PMP Recruitment

Private equity firm Twenty20 Capital has announced the signing of a deal to transfer ownership of its high volume recruitment asset, PMP Recruitment to Challenge-trg Group.

The deal reinforces Twenty20 Capital’s focus on creating value for shareholders whilst remaining well-positioned to support Cordant’s sub-brands: Cordant People, Premiere People and Staffgroup – building momentum through portfolio growth, increased customer wins and new vertical entry points.

Tristan Ramus, Twenty20 Capital’s Founder and Investment Principal, said: “We are delighted to announce the merger of two-sector giants; PMP Recruitment and Challenge-trg Group. After 18 months of considerable investment, the PMP Recruitment business has gone from strength to strength, making it a strategic acquisition for Challenge-trg Group, positioning them as the UK’s largest blue-collar labour provider.

“The collaborative move demonstrates our ability to identify the right partner at the right time ensuring ongoing success aligned to our own values. I am confident that Challenge-trg Group will propel PMP Recruitment’s capabilities offering industry-leading service to both clients and candidates.”

Cordant CEO Jamie Reynolds, who joins the Challenge-trg Group board to support long term client relationships, transitions and integrations said: “With the support of the Twenty20 board, we have built out and expanded the PMP Recruitment business. In pursuit of operational success, we’ve recognised that Challenge-trg Group is well-positioned to leverage the numerous growth opportunities linked to the brand and the sector it operates in. 

Tom Cropper, Group CEO of Challenge-trg, said: “This is a really exciting time for Challenge-trg Group and PMP Recruitment. By coming together and pooling our resources and experience, we can offer our clients the ultimate service in our sector. 

“As a business, our vision and values align – PMP Recruitment is a leader in establishing protocols in the abolishment of modern slavery and Challenge-trg Group has focussed on creating a work environment that develops and supports our employees.  Through the combined passion for service and continual innovation and investment in technology and training provision, this merger is undoubtedly going to create opportunities for personnel and clients alike”.

EXIT: Cordant Services

Cordant Security, Cordant Cleaning and Cordant Thistle become part of Bidvest Noonan.

We are delighted to be able to announce the sale of Cordant Services to Bidvest Noonan.

After a long history of exceptional service delivery, and having truly established itself as a trusted brand, we recognised that Cordant Services would be better positioned with an aligned organisation.

The exit of Cordant Services demonstrates our ability to drive market-leading performance with an outstanding management team and find the right partner at the right time for the future success of the business.

The disposal also reinforces Twenty20 Capital’s focus on realising value for shareholders whilst generating strategic growth within the staffing and human capital sector.

TEAM: Sam Bateman joins Twenty20 Capital as Legal Counsel

Twenty20 Capital strengthens its team ahead of future deal activity.

We are delighted to welcome Sam to the team. With a strong multi-disciplinary background across consulting, M&A  and law, Sam will head up our in-house legal and compliance team. We see this as a critical hire as we prepare for increasing deal activity.

TEAM: Katie Folwell-Davies joins Twenty20 Capital as Investment Partner

Twenty20 Capital strengthens its team ahead of future deal activity.

With a 20 year background at Deloitte as deal maker in the Human Capital sector, we are delighted to welcome Katie to the Twenty20 Capital team as Investment Partner. Her unique skillset will leverage our position as the leading dedicated investor in the staffing and workforce solutions sector.