Barclays Commercial Bank has won the prestigious Western Daily Press 2008 Deal of the Year Award for financing the Management Buy Out (MBO) at IPL.
The Western Daily Press South West Deals Awards ceremony, this year held at the Passenger Shed at Bristol Temple Meads, celebrates the invaluable contribution of the financial services sector to the region's business community. There were 11 award categories honouring the individuals and their firms who have made the greatest impression in the last 12 months.
Given the prominence of IPL, the MBO was immediately a strong candidate for Deal of the Year. Its status as a leading software services business, with a successful record of profitability and growth over many years, gave it a winning profile and appeal. The deal was sizeable, one of the largest in the South West region in the last year, involving a senior debt package from Barclays Leveraged Finance of close to £20m.
As well as being locally funded, the deal was advised by a broad selection of M&A advisory, legal and accounting expertise across Bristol, including Ernst & Young, Baker Tilly, Osborne Clarke, Burges Salmon, Bond Pearce, Roxburgh Milkins and Smith & Williamson.
Director of Leveraged Finance at Barclays Commercial Bank, Phil Rouse, said: "This was a great local deal for us. IPL is a well-established, high quality local business with an excellent management team, and one which we were very keen to support. The deal was good for IPL's market profile and was instrumental in reinforcing our reputation for quality and delivery in the regional banking market. We developed a strong rapport with the team during the process and are excited about the prospects for the business going forwards."
Shaun Davey, Chief Executive of IPL commented: "We enjoyed working with the Barclays team. We selected them not only because they were competitive, but also because we got on well with them and believed they would deliver on their promises. Their broad skills and commercial approach were refreshing and we are delighted to be doing business with them."
