GCP Invests in Arrow Business Communications
Growth Capital Partners (GCP) recently announced that it has completed a transaction with Arrow Business Communications, investing alongside management and providing a significant acquisition fund to enable Arrow to continue their ambitious growth strategy and further develop their strong presence in the industry.
Recent strategy has seen Arrow completing seven acquisitions in the last six years and whilst this has seen the business nearly treble in size and successfully transform from its mobile roots to a much broader based business communications supplier, the Arrow team are focused on complementing organic growth with larger acquisition opportunities which strengthen their hosted, data and IT services portfolio.
Kemp Little acted as exclusive legal advisor to the shareholders of Arrow Business Communications, a leading UK telecoms provider with multiple tier one MNO relationships. Arrow was formed as a division of Sony Communications in the early 1990s until a management buyout led by current CEO, Chris Russell, in 2003. Since 2003 the business has undertaken numerous roll up acquisitions.
Following the recent investment, Arrow and GCP will work in partnership, with management and GCP each having a 50% shareholding in the business. Kemp Little LLP has supported Arrow Business Communications since the 2003 management buyout.
Charles Claisse (Head of Corporate) led the transaction with support from the corporate team, including from Glafkos Tombolis (corporate partner). The team called on specialist input from Kemp Little LLP’s commercial technology, telecoms, intellectual property, regulatory and employment teams.
This transaction follows on from a series of other private equity and M&A transactions in 2016. Kemp Little LLP in this period has acted for and opposite private equity funds and trade buyers undertaking digital and technology (and technology enabled) acquisitions and investments with the geographies involved including the UK, the US, Japan, Australia and mainland Europe.
