Brachers advises on acquisition of SalesWorks UK by US-based Blarney Ventures LLC

We have advised Boston, Massachusetts-based investment holding company Blarney Ventures LLC on their acquisition of SalesWorks UK, a sales training and consultancy business in the B2B software space.

Brachers acted for Blarney Ventures LLC on their first UK investment, by establishing an English group of companies headed by Blarney Ventures UK Limited, and advising on the acquisition of the SalesWorks business from London-based SL Strategies Limited and Shabri Lakhani.

Shabri Lakhani will remain as the CEO of SalesWorks, while becoming a partner in Blarney Ventures UK to continue to run and grow the business.

Although contracts were exchanged in May, the deal wasn’t completed until September due to challenges brought about by COVID-19, including the SalesWorks business having to adapt to the ‘new normal’ to prove it could still deliver. Travel restrictions also meant the clients couldn’t come over from the US, which meant the deal was completed remotely.

Brachers Corporate Partner Claire Williams led the deal with support from solicitor Alistair Wickham in corporate and Antonio Fletcher in employment.

Claire said: “While this deal was partly delayed by the COVID-19 crisis, we were able to use technology to overcome distance and shielding issues to effectively complete the deal. We wish Blarney Ventures LLC the best of luck with this first investment in the UK and we look forward to working with them to help grow their portfolio.”

Blarney Ventures’ Managing Partner, Matthew Iovanni, said: “We are delighted by the recent acquisition of SalesWorks which we believe is a real asset to our portfolio and signals the next phase of growth for us as we expand into the European and North American markets. We welcome Shabri as partner and the knowledge and expertise she will bring to the company.

We want to thank the team at Brachers for all their help, making the transaction as seamless as possible in these difficult times.”

Brachers has found that the current climate has not deterred deals in recent months, nor has it deterred overseas investors, with the firm carrying out several deals, including acting for the management team on the buyout of London-based Clear Treasury Group Limited, the sale of JIB Insurance Brokers Limited to Ethos Broking and Planet First Partners’ investment  in Polymateria Limited.

Brachers’ corporate expertise has also been recognised in the latest edition of Chambers and Partners, one of the world’s most prominent legal directories. Head of Corporate and Commercial, James Bullock, again received the highest ranking available, band 1, Corporate Partner Matthew Simmonds ranked in band 2, and Corporate Partner Claire Williams ranked in band 3.

This content is correct at time of publication