The UK is fast becoming an epicentre of search fund deal activity. This is fuelled by more entrepreneurs and investors identifying the potentially lucrative returns associated with the search fund model which often outperform traditional private equity strategies.
Our search fund and entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) lawyers have years of experience in providing expert advice and guidance on a variety of search fund transactions, in particular:
- Incorporation of the search fund company
- Raising funds (for the search and the acquisition)
- The acquisition of a target business
- Providing advice and guidance through the lifecycle of the search fund/target business
- An exit.
Contact our team to see how we can help with your search fund transaction.
What is a search fund?
The search fund concept originated out of Harvard and Stanford business schools in the 1980s. Put simply, a search fund is an investment vehicle in which investors back an entrepreneur seeking to acquire and run an established business, with a proven track record and strong growth potential. The entrepreneur will usually assume the role of CEO and will run the business until an exit.
How can Irwin Mitchell’s search funds and ETA lawyers help?
Our corporate partner, Geraint Lloyd, was at the forefront of this trajectory and has been advising clients on search fund transactions for over a decade. Geraint leads the team alongside Ben Gale.
Simon Webster, an investor and entrepreneur, was the first to set up a search fund in Europe in 1993. Geraint was introduced to Simon Webster before the advent of search funds in the UK and identifying the search fund model as an interesting variation on traditional private equity, has been advising on search funds ever since.
Search fund transactions invariably require specialist advice on various legal matters. As a full-service law firm, we have specialist lawyers covering all of these areas including, in particular:
Search fund transactions have several nuances that are not comparable to a typical M&A / private equity transaction, and as such, they require specialist expert advice. Geraint and our team have unparalleled experience in this space and are dedicated to achieving the optimum outcome for our clients.
National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSI)
While the NSI regime is intended to capture transactions that are potentially a national security concern, its scope is significantly wider than that. In our experience, it captures over 40% of transactions (most of which have no national security concerns whatsoever), including search fund transactions.
Any transaction that falls within the scope of the regime must be cleared by the UK Government before it can be completed (otherwise the transaction will be void). Many of these transactions are being missed by inexperienced legal advisers.
Our lead partner on NSI, Andrew Evans, advises on all aspects of the NSI regime, from assessing whether the NSI regime applies, to compiling the required information and submitting the notification
Find out more about NSI
