Horizon Capital has formed and invested in Adeptio Law Group, which completed the acquisition of FBC Manby Bowdler
FBC Manby Bowdler
FBC Manby Bowdler is a full-service UK law firm with a rich history dating back to 1826. It has established itself as a trusted adviser to corporates, small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals across the West Midlands and surrounding areas. Following Horizon Capital’s comprehensive analysis of the legal services sector, FBC was identified as the ideal initial platform acquisition due to its leading market position in a fragmented regional landscape and its strong management team.
The Deal
Horizon has formed and invested in Adeptio Law Group, establishing a new legal services buy-and-build platform with national ambitions. The majority acquisition of FBC marks the first step in this strategy. With plans for several complementary acquisitions across the UK, Adeptio is positioned to play a central role in the consolidation of the legal services market.
To support the buy-and-build growth strategy, Horizon appointed Lincoln International to arrange debt facilities. The financing package was designed to back the initial majority investment and provide committed debt facilities for future acquisitions, ensuring the group’s ability to seize emerging opportunities in the legal sector.
Lincoln conducted a rigorous and competitive financing process, ultimately selecting HSBC as the most suitable financing partner. This decision ensures that Horizon and Adeptio are well-equipped for the next phase of growth.
Our Perspective
Aude Doyen, Lincoln International Managing Director who led the transaction, commented, “The legal services sector attracts significant interest from investors. From a financing perspective, there are specificities to consider, such as the impact of the conversion from LLP to Ltd structure on existing security release mechanics or how the operation of disbursement accounts is addressed in legal documentation. I’m glad the Horizon team trusted us to successfully navigate these complexities.”
Given FBC was an off-market transaction and didn’t have any sell-side materials, the Lincoln team did a great job in articulating the story and opportunity to the market and produced a good choice of lenders for us.
Meet our Senior Team
I build trust with clients by putting their interests first at all times.
Aude Doyen
Managing Director & Co-head of Capital Advisory, Europe
London
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Any information or testimonials contained in this post may not be representative of the experience of other clients and is no guarantee of future performance or success.