Enact Acquires SEA Transport

Ward Hadaway also advised the MBI team, while Womble Bond Dickinson and Tax Advisory Partnership supported Enact and Gotelee advised the seller.

SEA Transport is a family-owned port services and maritime haulage business that provides services to the maritime container sector. Since its founding in 2000, the company has grown to an operational footprint of 100,000 sq. ft., including an 82,000 sq. ft. bonded warehouse on Felixstowe port in Suffolk.

The acquisition will retain the incumbent founding family members of SEA Transport while supporting additional growth in Felixstowe at the same time as extending the firm’s business model to further UK ports in a controlled expansion.

“We are delighted to acquire SEA and provide the investment needed to support the expansion of the business to additional ports around the UK to create a national platform providing specialist port services and maritime haulage,” said Felix Connolly, investment director at Enact. “We are looking forward to supporting the founding family members and MBI team to deliver further growth and development of the SEA brand.”

Gavin Jones, GJC Advisory:

Please tell us more about the transaction and the expertise that GJC Advisory brought to the process of advising the MBI team.

SEA Transport was built by the founding directors and has grown by providing exceptional customer care to clients. The team has worked hard to build the reputation of the business and they have a fantastic customer base that has centred around this amazing customer service.

It was apparent early in the process that the vendors had a clear value expectation and transaction certainty was important to them. Listening to the client and ensuring they got the right deal at the right time was a key priority for us. It was such a fantastic business that we truly wanted them to get them the deal they deserved. Lots of advisors have the right contacts and can push an MBI through but retaining the reputation of the business and keeping these high levels of customer service post purchase was a priority for us.

What are the key considerations that you take into account when advising on an acquisition in this capacity?

It is important to work closely with the client and be transparent about what they need and what they are looking for. Using an advisor who understands the market and being honest about client values and expectations is what is important. We focus these findings on building and articulating a detailed buy-in plan to generate funder interest and confidence.  By presenting a solid MBI plan to the right funders, in the right way, we can negotiate the right terms for the management group. This gives the best chance of making the transition to company ownership happen.

Our expertise spans debt financing, equity financing and everything in between. We have plenty of experience and have seen and helped businesses in all sorts of situations, which means we have the skills to respond to whatever the needs of the client are. Some advisors do not have that knowledge and are limited in the funding options available, which means vendors can get stuck in situations that might not be the best arrangement for them or the future of the business.

Our expertise spans debt financing, equity financing and everything in between.

How did you work with Ward Hadaway and the other involved firms to ensure a satisfactory outcome for all?

We believe in being that energetic advisor. During this transaction we got along with all the firms involved amazingly. Tenacity and good communication are needed and I think the speed at which the deal went through is testament to the strength of the relationships forged with the advisory team. We always kept close to each other and to the client; putting an arm around a shoulder when things got intense went a long way. Strong financials, governance and detailed growth plans coupled with the right advisors is gold dust – or ‘the secret sauce’ as we like to coin it at GJC.