Mackenzie Hall / Porfolio Recovery Associates Inc

Cavendish is delighted to have advised on the sale of Mackenzie Hall, a leading UK consumer debt collection and purchase group, to Portfolio Recovery Associates, Inc., (“PRA”) a US market leader in the consumer debt purchase and collection industry, for a price of £33.5 million in cash.

Mackenzie Hall is one of the UK’s fastest-growing businesses in consumer debt recovery and manages gross cash collections in excess of £30 million per annum from its 170 employee call centre in Kilmarnock. The business was founded in 2003 and since 2006 has been majority owned by JZI, the European private equity firm.

Cavendish ran a competitive, focussed sale process, which targeted both strategic and private equity buyers. PRA was identified early on by Cavendish’s international network and emerged as the preferred bidder due to the value they placed on the business and their clear strategy to use Mackenzie Hall as a platform to expand into the UK market. PRA intends to provide both expertise and capital to Mackenzie Hall to drive further growth in the business.

Paul Mackenzie, CEO and founder of Mackenzie Hall, and his senior executive team have entered into long-term employment agreements with PRA. Commenting on the acquisition by PRA, Paul said:

“This deal confirms Mackenzie Hall’s position as the UK’s most exciting and progressive consumer debt collection and debt purchase agency. It provides us with unparalleled support in our pursuit of accelerated growth, both in our core contingent collections service, which remains at the heart of the business, and in our on-going purchase of niche portfolios.”

Martin Wright, the JZI partner who led the investment in Mackenzie Hall, commented:

“In bringing PRA to the table, Cavendish identified a buyer who recognised the value created by Paul and his team during the period of our ownership and who has an exciting vision for the future of the business. The Cavendish team helped ensure the price paid by PRA reflects this and that the deal completed in a timely fashion. It represents a very successful investment for JZI.”

“In Sӧderberg & Partners we have found a partner who sees the world the same way we do and the whole team at Fidelius is incredibly excited about the next phase of our journey. I would like to extend our thanks to Ben and the team at Cavendish who ran an excellent process and provided quality, considered advice throughout – many thanks to the whole team!”

Jim Grant, CEO, Fidelius Group

“In July 2015 we founded Pure Cremation and have grown the business to become the largest independent provider of prepaid plans in the UK. Pure is only part way through its exciting journey and, after a rigorous search process, we are delighted to have found such a strong partner in Epiris.

The Cavendish team, led by Jonathan Buxton and Ben Goldring, did a fantastic job, running a truly competitive process and managing the transaction with great skill. They were crucial in delivering this deal and its successful outcome – many thanks to the whole team.”

Bryan Powell and Catherine Powell, Co-Founders of Pure Cremation

“We are delighted to have achieved this result for the business that Daniel Freedman co-founded and found such a strong partner in the form of Lovell Minnick for the next stage of its growth. Howard and Ben were an excellent support throughout this process, and provided us with first class advice and guidance throughout.”

Elaine Freedman, shareholder of London & Capital

“We chose to partner with LMP because of the firm’s excellent track record of working with management teams to scale and enhance wealth and asset management firms. Their deep experience in the space and our sense of shared values and culture align with our focus on providing an exceptional service and experience for our clients.”

Guy McGlashan, Chief Executive Officer, London & Capital

“This partnership will enable us accelerate our global growth plans by investing in our people, technology, sales and marketing. I would like to thank the whole team at Cavendish for providing advice and guidance on this transformational transaction.”

Sean Fitzgerald, CEO, Sentenial

“This new partnership is a very exciting opportunity for Tempcover to both consolidate its existing position and provide a platform for further growth into new verticals and markets. Many thanks to Ben and the Cavendish team who provided invaluable advice throughout the process and helped us achieve this great outcome for the Company.”

Alan Inskip, CEO, Tempcover

We were delighted with our decision to engage with Cavendish to advise us on our plans to bring inward investment into the group. Duncan, James Ellis and James Baker brought such complementary skills to our internal deal team. They calmly helped us navigate through all stages of the process, due diligence and through to completion. They were a pleasure to work with and I’d highly recommended them

Steve Wilkie, Chairman and Co-Founder, the Responsible Group

“The Cavendish team led by Joe Stelzer and supported by Chirag Gohil did an outstanding job in identifying Begbies as a perfect home to drive our future growth. Cavendish negotiated an excellent deal and provided invaluable guidance to us through the process.”

Paul Appleton, Managing Partner at David Rubin & Partners

I am delighted that we have secured a new loan facility an that our three existing funders continue to support the business during this challenging period, demonstrating their confidence in Morses Club and our growth and digital diversification strategy.

Paul Smith, CEO, Morses Club PLC

Alan Inskip, CEO of Tempcover