Clarke Willmott advises on sale of Southampton-based Hilton-Baird Group
Lawyers at national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP have advised on the sale of The Hilton-Baird Group to FRP Advisory.
Southampton-headquartered Hilton-Baird provides commercial finance and credit insurance brokerage, outsourced risk and receivables audit, as well as credit management and commercial debt collection services.
Established in 1997, its clients include independent lenders, banks, SMEs and corporate businesses as well as insolvency practitioners from across the UK and Europe.
Hilton-Baird will continue to operate under its existing brand within FRP’s debt advisory offering.
Clarke Willmott’s Southampton office acted for the Hilton-Baird Group during the transaction. Its team was led by corporate partner Kelvin Balmont, assisted by solicitor Bryony Warren and senior associate Ariaan Wilson in the commercial property team.
Alex Hilton-Baird, founder of Hilton-Baird, said: “Having never sold a business before, choosing the right advisor to help navigate the process was key to the successful conclusion of the acquisition. Fortunately, Clarke Willmott was recommended by our accountants Langdowns DFK, who had worked with them on a number of previous transactions. From our first interaction, Kelvin demonstrated his experience and corporate knowledge. His guidance and pragmatism, with fantastic support from his experienced deal team throughout the sale process, were a large factor in the success of the transaction.”
He added “Building on the strength of our fantastic team, joining FRP will enable us to continue to attract and grow the talent necessary to deliver our market leading brokerage, ABL audit and commercial debt collection services on a national basis, while continuing to grow our direct services to SME, corporate and advisory clients.”
Geoff Rowley, chief executive officer at FRP, added: “This is our ninth acquisition since admission to AIM in March 2020, demonstrating the continued delivery of our strategy to generate sustainable profitable growth by combining a focus on organic growth with acquisitions that meet the Group’s selective criteria.”
Speak to an expert
If you have a query or would like to discuss your or your business’s circumstances, please request a consultation with our corporate team.
Posted:
