Jamieson Corporate Finance has successfully aided Matrix Private Equity Partners (“Matrix”) and the incumbent management team of British International Limited (“BIL”) on the £20m secondary buyout of the business.
BIL was formed in 2000 and is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of helicopter services, operating the UK’s only scheduled service by helicopter, with flights between Penzance, Cornwall and the Scilly Isles.
BIL is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of helicopter services and has a number of important public service contracts. It operates the UK’s only scheduled service by helicopter, with flights between Penzance, Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. The service carries 130,000 passengers a year with up to 26 flights a day during peak season. BIL has long-standing relationships with the Ministry of Defence; providing helicopter support to the Falkland Island garrison and Flag Officer Sea Training and Joint Maritime Courses in Plymouth and the off the west coast of Scotland. Other important services include the provision of an Air Support Unit to the joint police forces of South Wales and Gwent, and to QinetiQ for the retrieval of targets used in training RAF pilots off the coast of West Wales, and supporting Shell off the Donegal coast.
The group has undisclosed profits on annual revenue of £19 million; it operates from five UK locations at Penzance, Plymouth, Cardiff, Bournemouth and Sherborne and the Falkland Islands, and employs 160 staff.
The MBO team is led by David Hayler, Managing Director, Peter Sorby, Finance Director and Tony Jones, Operations Director.
Jonathan Gregory of Matrix led a syndicate comprising Finance Cornwall and Chrysalis VCT that has invested £5 million of equity, with senior debt and asset finance being provided by Bank of Scotland Corporate.
“We are very pleased to have been able to help the management team continue their involvement in the long term success of BIL. Finding the right partner in a Secondary transaction is critical and the enthusiasm of the management team for working with the Matrix-led syndicate leaves BIL well positioned to build on its core contracts and seek additional opportunities in the offshore oil industry.”
Ian Jamieson, Jamieson
