The Cowgill effect
How much does a high profile chairman help in fundraising efforts?
Hello Rainmakers,
This St Valentine’s Day we’re asking whether the presence of a well known business figure can help secure the affections of investors, or is the other way round.
Peter Cowgill going in as chairman
This is your free Friday taster email for all the curious free subscribers out there who don’t quite know what they’re missing.
But also a pick of the crop from different deals being done around the country, selected by our team of journalists from TheBusinessDesk.com.
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The Cowgill effect
How much does a high profile chairman help in fundraising efforts?
This week we’ve seen two separate funders lining up to provide a £10m investment package to support the management buyout of Leeds-based regulated compliance solutions provider, Product Partnerships Ltd (PPL).
The support from Arete Capital, from Liverpool, and TDC’s Impact Fund, based in Manchester, will enable PPL to expand and enhance its offering and proprietary technology platform.
As part of the deal, which Arete originated, transacted and funded, they also helped to strengthen PPL’s board and leadership team, appointing Peter Cowgill as Chairman after he expressed a wish to get involved. The ex-executive chairman of sports retail powerhouse JD Sports, clearly brings a wealth of retail industry experience to the role.
There have been a few eyes on what Cowgill might do every since he left JD in 2022. The accountancy firm he founded in Bolton still bears his name, even if his role there is totemic and paternal (his son Ben is something of a rising star there).
He’s also registered with a speaker agency, and according to a source who knows him well, he’s writing a book.
He occasionally gets linked to deals when other retailers come on the block, including brands that he bought for JD that are considered surplus to the strategic requirements of his successor, Regis Schulz. Mainline Menswear is one, Oi Polloi was another, but those were nothing more than fashion industry rumours.
His twenty year on-off role at JD came to an end in 2022 after a bid for Foot Asylum was blocked by competition authorities with his actions leading to a fine from the Competition and Markets Authority.
Cowgill left his role as executive chairman with the Bury-based sports and athleisurewear giant in 2022. Following this, he agreed a deal with JD not to work for, or advise, any of its competitors, for which he will receive £3.5m over two years.
He also agreed a consultancy deal with JD for an expected period of three years, with non-compete clauses. In November 2022 he was appointed as the first non-executive chairman of Trafford Park-based The Fragrance Shop.
Cowgill of course will have taken a few quid off the table when Applied Nutrition floated.
But his involvement in PPL is intriguing and plays to his reputation for having a fine attention to detail. Founded in 2014, it provides outsourced compliance services to retailers offering consumer credit products covering both directly authorised firms and appointed representatives under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations.
Since its inception the company has built an impressive portfolio of blue chip clients, including Google, Aston Martin, JD Sports, Peloton, and Bensons for Beds. Today, PPL oversees more than £260m in credit transactions across its network.
Historically focused on the motor industry, PPL has successfully diversified into other FCA regulated sectors, including retail, green energy, and financial services.
Arete played a pivotal role in structuring the MBO, securing a tailored private credit facility with TDC via its Impact Fund to facilitate the transaction and future acquisitions.
Private capital investor, Arete invests up to £15m in businesses and management teams and has its portfolio includes companies Leonard Curtis, Vivify Venues and Chillblast.
For Phillip Garlick, Chief Executive of PPL, the investment is significant and provides them with the financial firepower to invest in compliance resources, accelerate organic growth, explore strategic M&A opportunities, and continue our expansion into high potential sectors such as green energy.
“We are also committed to further developing our proprietary technology into a fully fledged SaaS solution, enhancing value for our clients.”
Simon Lord, Partner at Arete, said: “PPL is a dynamic, growing business with significant untapped potential. The demand for compliance-based solutions in the retail sector is stronger than ever, and PPL is perfectly positioned to capitalise on these opportunities.
Presumably Cowgill’s presence made the decision to back PPL easier for the investment committee at KKR backed TDC, which they are backing through their Impact Fund. Their guy Jon Petty, Investment Director said: “We are committed to supporting high growth northern SMEs. Phillip and the PPL team have demonstrated their ability to drive sustainable growth, and this investment will enable them to expand further, create new jobs, and contribute positively to the regional economy.”
The deal was led by Simon Lord and Jamie Newall from Arete, with support from Hill Dickinson, led by Matt Noon/Alex Thow, Cortus, led by Ben Emmett, and Claritas Tax, led by Peter Hully, that provided legal, financial and tax structuring expertise to Arete during the transaction.
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Ecotech, the Coventry-based manufacturer of wet and dry wipes, has been wiped off the market and acquired by Harrisons, a cleaning product supplier with 134 years of history.
After facing some dirty laundry with two notices of intention to appoint administrators, Ecotech’s future was looking grimy—but Harrisons came to the rescue.
Now, they’re all set to wipe out the competition with a fresh new product line.
Stephen Harrison, MD at Harrisons, has called the acquisition “a key milestone in the company’s growth.”
While, Ecotech’s team is rolling up their sleeves, ready for the next chapter.
Looks like it’s all coming up clean for everyone involved!
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Leicester-based WBR Group has snapped up Standard Life’s long-standing SSAS portfolio after 20 years of helping manage it from the sidelines.
WBR will now take on a portfolio of 270 schemes, 246 properties – with £403m in assets under administration - a hefty addition to WBR’s books.
“This is an unusual acquisition,” said WBR director Martin Tilley. “But one we obviously know well.”
Standard Life is handing over the keys and focusing on its core business, leaving WBR to steer the pension powerhouse.
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Big news this week in the food production industry with private equity firm Endless shaking hands on a deal to exit the £135m turnover Karnova Food Group.
It has sold Karnova to OSI UK, which is part of US-headquartered OSI Group. The buyer is a major player in the sector, headquartered in Illinois, with 67 manufacturing facilities, more than 20,000 employees operating out of 16 countries and supplying customers in 77 countries.
Karnova was created through the acquisition and integration of Yorkshire Premier Meat and Manchester-based Smithfield Murray by Endless in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Karnova is Endless’ second successful exit from its 2021 Fund V following the sale of Findel Education in March 2024 to Manutan, the €1bn turnover Paris-headquartered specialist in educational supplies.
It is interesting to note that Endless' exit from Karnova at this stage was not originally part of its plan, with Endless investment director, James Warburton, commenting: “We did not envisage selling Karnova this early but OSI made clear their ambitions for the business and they will be a fantastic long-term owner for the business with a marking leading reputation."
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How did start-up ecommerce business Huboo go from a nine figure fund raise, to a £9 sale?
Yes, that’s not a typo. £9. Nine quid. The price of a glass of wine in a nice West Country pub.
"Never in my career in VC have I seen an investment opportunity with the scale prospects of Huboo," said Ada Ventures partner, and Huboo director, Matt Penneycard.
It is December 2023, and the ecommerce fulfilment company had just raised another £29m, in an equity and debt funding round featuring HSBC and Blackrock, alongside follow-on investments from Ada Ventures and Maersk Growth.
Huboo’s total fundraising in its first six years had now gone into nine figures.
One year later, on December 23, 2024 - right at the end of the Christmas delivery period - the Bristol-based company appointed administrators and a pre-pack deal went through.
The new owners paid £9. Did we already say that?
But, maybe there can be a happy ending. Alex Turner has the details.
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We did a piece on Dominic McGregor and Fearless Ventures this week.
So is it a marketing consultancy that takes equity stakes in its clients? Maybe.
But so what if it doesn’t fit into a box, isn’t that exactly what a disruptive entrepreneur like Dominic McGregor should be doing?
This isn’t a takedown, nor is it a puff piece. There’s also a few surprising new things about him.
Since 2021 his project has been Fearless, sometimes referred to as an “investment fund” which was co-founded by McGregor, with David Newns and Charlie Yates (below).
The Social Chain story is that McGregor helped media star Steve Bartlett grow a US$300million turnover business with 750 staff, and that the pair “took the company public” in 2019 and exited in 2020 - and while it’s one which the telling of doesn’t lack audacity, it is also what you can now see being played out in the next chapters of both of their lives.
The Times newspaper has gone full sceptic on the claims. But as one entrepreneur told TheBusinessDesk.com in 2023: “Steven has very cleverly built his personal brand, there’s nothing wrong with that, but people have bought into the whole $600m myth.”
The reality lies somewhere in the small print, but even if the gain from chain wasn’t quite as portrayed, that’s still quite a story for a couple of young blokes in their twenties. And cuts to the point as to why this is of genuine interest. McGregor also has a certain charisma, a magnetism and an energy that means he has a lot to give.
This is a story about what that is.
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RAINMAKERS CONFERENCE IS BACK IN 2025
Our speakers have been revealed for the 2025 Rainmakers conference. They include those featured below, and many, many more.
twisted loop are excited to come on board as our headline partner. They join partners BGF, Dow Schofield Watts, KPMG, NorthEdge, Palatine, Shawbrook, Squire Patton Boggs & TDC.
Twisted Loop said: “This event is a testament to the strength and ambition of the North West’s business and investment community, bringing together an incredible range of talent, insight, and expertise.
A powerful line up of speakers including high-calibre private equity backed entrepreneurs such as Ruth Percival, Helen Oldham and Thomas Ryder, the founder of Applied Nutrition and the chief executive of the biggest UK stock market float of 2024.
Hot topics on the packed agenda include how to create success in tech, the art of building value in a growing business, and making the case for private equity and corporate finance professionals on the political stage.
Newsworthy speakers will also include Shru Morris, anointed successor DSW, and Dave Richards, founder of IntelliAM, who has a tale to tell about his experiences with tech business WANdisco, and founder of Palatine private equity Gary Tipper.
Also appearing to set the political backdrop to the eventful year just gone will be Karim Palant, head of external affairs at the BVCA, who has just returned from a trip to Washington DC.
So save the date for Rainmakers 2025 – Wednesday 26 March, 2025 – and secure your place today at The Point, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
It will bring more opportunities to network, more amazing speakers, more candid debate, more inspiring entrepreneurs, but also a chance to discuss the challenges of value creation.
The first Rainmakers Conference this March sold out, with more than 400 people attending to hear the insights and perspectives from entrepreneurs, investors and advisors, and to network with senior figures from across the corporate finance community.
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