27/10/2022 - News

Clearwater International sustains strong performance following momentous FY 21/22 results

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Global mid-market corporate finance house Clearwater International completed 64 M&A and 24 debt advisory transactions worth over €7.5bn, in the six months to September 2022. This strong momentum boosted revenues by 9.6% comparing to the same period in FY 21/22.

strong momentum boosted revenues by 9.6% comparing to the same period in FY 21/22

This record first half of the year follows a momentous finish to FY 21/22 (year ending 31 March 2022), in which Clearwater completed 221 transactions worth €16bn across Europe, demonstrating a 60% increase in transaction volume, and 151% increase in cumulative transaction value. This period of intense activity led the business to grow revenues by 110% to €153m.

Clearwater’s work with private equity has remained abundant throughout 2022, sustaining seventh place in the Mergermarket European M&A league table, by number of PE exits worked on.

During the first half of FY22/23, Clearwater advised on many notable transactions, including:

  • Raising debt facilities for holiday cottage rental agency Sykes Holiday Cottages, to support the acquisition of Forest Holidays
  • Advising A&M Capital Europe, on the acquisition of the majority stake in Carton Pack, a market-leading provider of tailored packaging solutions to the fruit and vegetable industry, from 21 Invest
  • Delivering the sale of Infrakraft, a fast-growing market leader within infrastructure development in Sweden, to the sustainability focused private equity fund, Trill Impact
  • Advising the shareholders of Littlefish, a leading mid-market IT managed services provider, on a significant investment from Bowmark Capital
  • Refinancing of the existing syndicated loan agreement for Viessmann, one of the market-leading HVAC experts in Europe
  • Advising H&MV, a leading European specialist in high voltage electrical contracting and design, on its investment from UK private equity firm, Exponent
  • Delivering the sale of Troldtekt, one of Denmark’s leading brands in building materials, on its sale to the listed international manufacturer of building materials, Kingspan Group

In addition, Clearwater made a number of senior hires in the first half of the financial year. At Partner level, this included Marco Morfino in Italy, who brings more than 20 years’ experience in the industrial technology and transportation sectors, and Bruno Pinho in Portugal, with over 20 years of M&A and corporate finance experience.

In the UK, also joining as Partners were Simon Chambers and Richard Clark, who strengthen the Debt Advisory team, making it one of the largest in Europe with a headcount of 35. Also in the UK, Christopher Jones joined as Managing Partner and Head of London, to further build Clearwater’s presence in the capital, alongside Jo Daley as Head of Impact, who now leads all aspects of ESG, both internally and as a client offering. In Germany, Bertolt Mueller joined as Managing Director and Co-Head of Energy & Utilities, further strengthening Clearwater’s energy and utilities sector expertise. In France, Marine Dominguez joined as COO, to support business growth, in line with Clearwater France’s development strategy.

Ensuring career progression remained a key priority for Clearwater, with 15 internal promotions made in the last six months, including several into senior roles. At Director level, this included Sam Beard, James Malcharek and Robert Umpleby in the UK, alongside Benoit Voyer in France.

Julian Brown

Julian Brown, CEO of Clearwater International commented:

“It’s great to see such an impressive set of results for the first half of the financial year, an impressive achievement against a background of falling overall M&A volumes in the market. Our substantial increase in revenue and transactions last year clearly demonstrates the commitment of the team and has driven further investment in strategic hires across the European business. In the spirit of driving growth, I’m delighted to see the continued investment in the team reflected in the well-deserved promotions across the business. Looking forward to the second half of our financial year, I’m confident that our people, shared values, and ambition will continue to drive our momentum in the market, enabling us to consolidate our competitive position through what will undoubtedly be less favourable market conditions.”

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