Palatine Private Equity invests in BK Plus

By acquiring a significant minority shareholding in BK Plus, Palatine Private Equity secures a fast-growing platform generating annual sales of £5–25M to strengthen its position within the UK accountancy consolidation market. Executed in September 2023, this growth equity transaction values the Midlands-headquartered accountancy group at an enterprise value of £10–30M. Based on the financial reporting for the fiscal year ending March 2024, BK Plus recorded an EBITDA before exceptional items of £0–5M. This profitability profile aligns the minority buyout with a valuation multiple of 10x–18x and a revenue multiple of 1x–3x. The financial architecture of the transaction injects institutional capital directly into BK Plus, enabling the professional services firm to finance its national buy-and-build strategy while maintaining the strategic direction of its executive team. As part of the corporate restructuring associated with the investment, Mike Ward, the former Chief Executive Officer of Gateley PLC, joins the board of directors of BK Plus as the newly appointed Chairman. To fund the immediate rollout of this nationwide consolidation roadmap, the debt structuring was finalized through a customized financial package provided by Deepak Parekh at Shawbrook Bank. The strategic rationale driving Palatine Private Equity centers on capitalizing on the highly fragmented nature of the British accounting sector, empowering BK Plus to systematically acquire like-minded regional firms. This capital injection allows the regional service provider to leverage the extensive infrastructure and strategic buy-and-build expertise of Palatine Private Equity without sacrificing its core philosophy of localized client delivery. The execution of this mid-market transaction required the orchestration of an extensive advisory consortium. On the buy-side, Palatine Private Equity mandated Clearwater to act as the primary corporate finance adviser, led by partner Sarah Taylor. Furthermore, Palatine Private Equity retained RSM to manage tax structuring, Cortus for financial due diligence, RPL for commercial due diligence, and Fluid IT for technology audits. Legal counsel for Palatine Private Equity was provided by Gateley, alongside Cyberfort for cybersecurity assessments and Partners& for insurance evaluations. Conversely, the executive management team at BK Plus received dedicated transaction support and legal advisory services from Nick Dawson and his specialized team at Irwin Mitchell, with additional management advice from Trevor Foster. Eversheds acted as the legal counsel for the banking facilities provided by Shawbrook Bank.

By taking control of BK Plus, Palatine Private Equity continues its expansion strategy. Previously, the group had completed 2 acquisitions, including Acora in 2020.