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Milestone Capital completes the Buy-In Management Buy-Out of Debt Line

01st February 2012

Milestone Capital Partners LLP (“Milestone”), the Anglo-French private equity firm, is pleased to announce that it has completed the Buy-In Management Buy-Out (“BIMBO”) of RG Debt Management Services Limited (“Debt Line”) from the Richmond Group Limited.

The existing Debt Line management team of Trevor Light (Operations Director) and Mike Waylett (Sales Director) will be joined by two new members of management; Tom Fraser (CEO) and Paul Rushent (Finance Director). Mike Tait will also join the board as non-executive Chairman.

Milestone, specialists in buy-and-build investments, led the transaction and funded the deal solely through equity. Milestone will own a majority stake in Debt Line going forward with the management team owning a minority stake.

About Debt Line

Debt Line was founded by the Richmond Group in 2006 and is now one of the industry leaders in the UK debt management sector. It arranges and administers Debt Management Plans (“DMP’s”) on behalf of its clients, allowing its clients to restructure their debt into more affordable monthly repayments.

Philip Conboy, Partner at Milestone commented:

“We have been following the sector for a number of years and feel very passionately about the positive impact that Debt Line has on its client’s lives. There are clearly strong underlying market fundamentals that will drive demand in the debt solution market in the medium term as individuals actively seek a solution to reduce current levels of personal debt that are at unmanageable levels.

"We have been very impressed with the job that Trevor and Mike have done since 2006 in growing the business to where it is today. The addition of Tom and Paul to the management team will provide further senior management resource to leverage the Debt Line platform and to execute a buy-and-build strategy in a very fragmented market.”

Tom Fraser, CEO at Debt Line commented:

"I have been working with Milestone over the last 12 to 18 months and share their thoughts around the opportunity that exists with Debt Line. There will be significant opportunities to acquire additional debt solution businesses or books of DMP’s that are in run-off as the market becomes more regulated. Milestone are a fantastic partner to have given their experience and track record in executing buy-and-build transactions successfully.

I am also looking forward to working with Paul, Trevor, Mike and the existing team in taking Debt Line to the next level under new ownership.”

About Milestone

Milestone is an independent private equity firm investing in buy-and-build situations, owned and controlled by its partners, which manages over €250m and invests mainly in the UK and France. Milestone seeks to identify and invest in experienced management teams with a strong track record. Working in close collaboration and partnership with these management teams, Milestone executives will deliver strategic business input and significant industry contacts, ensuring maximum business performance and strong long term shareholder returns.

This is Milestone’s sixth investment in its current portfolio following its successful exit from Coffee Nation in 2011 that generated a return of 3.7x money in under three years. Milestone has six investment professionals based in London and Paris.

Debt Line deal team:

Milestone:

Philip Conboy
Colin Granger

Milestone’s legal advisers:

Osborne Clarke: Paul Cooper, Amy Salmon

Milestone’s due diligence team:

RSM Tenon (Financial and Tax): Rebecca Guerin, James Killing, Steve Jacob
Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann (Human Capital): Carol House
Intuitus (IT): Calum Stewart, Richard Irwin
Gallagher Heath (Insurance): George Minoprio

For further information, please contact:

Philip Conboy: philip.conboy@milestone-capital.com

Colin Granger: colin.granger@milestone-capital.com