Brachers’ Corporate team advise on management buyout (MBO) of international fintech group

Brachers’ Corporate team has advised the majority shareholders of international financial services provider Clear Treasury on a management buyout (MBO).

Clear Treasury’s management team have secured a funding facility required to buy out minority shareholders and provide increased working capital. Brachers provided legal support to the buyers, while SRC Corporate Finance, led by founder Rupert Rawcliffe, provided financial advice. The deal was supported by a bespoke five-year funding package provided by SME Capital.

Clear Treasury will continue to be led by its management team comprising CEOs Jordan Tilley and Peter O’Flanagan and CCO Paul Reilly.

Clear Treasury is a fintech group specialising in payments and foreign exchange services through a technology-first approach, backed by an expert team in London and Dublin. The group operates across a diverse range of industries including sport, finance, IT services, legal and business support, targeting larger SMEs.

The business has been trading since 2010, with Jordan, Peter and Paul acquiring a 75% stake in 2020, which Brachers also advised on. They have since rapidly grown the business through the deployment of new service offerings and technologies. This latest transaction means the management team now own 100% of the business, with the full exit of the minority shareholders.

Jordan Tilley, CEO of Clear Treasury, said of the deal:
“We would like to thank Rupert and his team at SRC Corporate Finance for the swift and professional process they ran on this hugely significant transaction for Clear Treasury. Having clearly understood our long-term ambitions, SRC helped advise on the bespoke funding package offered by SME Capital that not only enabled the management team to meet its objective in funding the buyout of our minority shareholders but also provide the increase to working capital which will assist in driving the business along its already fast-accelerating growth path.

“We were fortunate to have a great team around us to get the deal over the line. Claire Williams from our company lawyers Brachers, who was with us all the way during our first management buyout, led on the legal advice and again delivered invaluable fast, professional, and proactive advice. We thank Claire and her team and look forward to continuing to work closely together as we grow as a company.

“We see this as a pivotal moment as, alongside the shareholder buyout, we have a range of new product releases imminent that will enable our clients even greater access to our payment and foreign exchange capabilities. We will further invest into the teams and technologies that have enabled our business to more than double revenues over the past two years and look forward with excitement on delivering the next stage of our strategic plans….”

Brachers’ legal advisory team was led by Claire Williams, Partner (Corporate and Commercial), and included Cameron Gaston-Penny (Solicitor) and Charlotte Berthel (Legal Assistant).

Claire commented: “We are delighted to have assisted our longstanding clients on this deal and were truly impressed by the speed and professionalism of all involved. We wish the Clear Treasury management team every success and look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Rupert Rawcliffe, Founder of SRC Corporate Finance added: “The smooth process is testament to how well the team works together and how strong Clear Treasury’s processes and systems are. It was a real pleasure working with the team and I am confident that the ongoing objectives will be fully achieved.”

James Lowe, Regional Director of SME Capital, also commented: “From initially looking at this opportunity it was evident that Clear Treasury is in a unique position, using a technology first approach to support an impressive client base across payments and foreign exchange services.

“We are delighted to have supported Clear Treasury with a finance package that completed the management buyout of the business, and we look forward to building a successful partnership as we seek to support Jordan, Peter and Paul with their strategic objectives. SME Capital’s funding will enable management to drive the business forward into the next stage of its development.”

This content is correct at time of publication