Skipton’s Callcredit Information Group Sale Heralds Future Full of Opportunity
Skipton Building Society today announces the successful sale of
its majority stake in credit reference and marketing services
subsidiary Callcredit Information Group (CIG), in a
deal signalling positive opportunities for both businesses.
Vitruvian Partners, the London-based private equity firm, has
purchased Skipton's share for an undisclosed sum with the full
support of CIG's management team.
This follows a successful partnership spanning almost a decade
which has seen Skipton working with CIG management to establish the
business and develop it beyond all recognition, to become one of
the UK's leading suppliers of credit and marketing
information.
The deal generates around £40m of additional profit for Skipton,
boosting the Society's already strong capital base.
For CIG, it marks the start of a new era as an independent
organisation, extending its reach to new customers and
markets.
Vitruvian Partners will take Skipton's place on the Board and is
looking forward to injecting fresh investment, ideas and experience
into the business's future development. However, CIG will continue
to pursue its clear strategic direction under its current
leadership.
Skipton Group Chief Executive David Cutter said: "CIG has been a
major success story for Skipton of which we are very proud.
"Our support and guidance has enabled the business to penetrate
the credit referencing and marketing information markets and, in
doing so, to become a serious rival to the major players, from
which it continues to take market share.
"Following a strategic review, Skipton decided CIG was no longer
core to our future business direction. At the same time, CIG has
huge further potential and is now ready to enter the next stage of
its development as an independent business with ambitious
aspirations.
"Therefore we concluded that this is the appropriate time for CIG
to move on and for its next growth phase to be supported by private
equity, rather than ourselves as a member-owned building
society.
"We're delighted to have achieved such a positive outcome for
CIG's staff, and for Skipton, and this substantial boost to our
profitability and financial strength will provide a real shot in
the arm for our own future business ambitions."
CIG was established in 2000 and now has over 600 employees and
annual turnover of around £50m. Last year it recorded profits of
£5m.
John McAndrew, Chief Executive of CIG, added: "We are extremely
grateful for the help and support of Skipton over the past nine
years.
"We have a reputation for differentiating ourselves through
innovation and delivering outstanding value and service. To do
this, we have been investing in people, technology and new
products. We now have plans to explore new markets and geographies
and are very optimistic that this change of ownership will provide
us with the impetus to achieve our goals.
"We're delighted that Vitruvian Partners emerged as the buyer
because they are committed to supporting our existing business
strategy as well as our vision of growth through both organic
development and acquisition."
David Nahama, who is a founding partner at Vitruvian, added: "We
are delighted to be working with John and his team at this very
exciting stage of their development. CIG sits right in our sweet
spot as an entrepreneurial organisation, deploying smart technology
and with a strong, customer-centric management team and great
strategic opportunities ahead of it."
The UK's fourth largest building society*, Skipton is at the hub
of a unique group of 21 subsidiary companies and has a strong track
record as a creator, acquirer and disposer of successful
businesses.
This transaction is the latest example of the scope and potential
of the diversified Skipton Group model, and the considerable value
embedded in the Society's range of subsidiary businesses. It also
follows a string of positive developments for Skipton this year.
The Group announced half-year profits of £17m and expects to
announce increased full-year operating profits next Spring.
Its merger with Scarborough Building Society, in March,
significantly boosted Skipton's scale and capability, adding
approximately 200,000 new saving and borrowing members. Then, in
July, it acquired Capital One's UK savings portfolio, adding a
further 50,000 saving members.
Late last month, Skipton successfully accessed £650m of additional
funding under the Government's Credit Guarantee Scheme. Its issue
of packaged debt was three times over-subscribed and adds a further
dimension to the Society's robust and diverse funding,
approximately 80% of which comes from retail deposits.
Skipton was advised by J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Addleshaw Goddard
LLP.
* KPMG Database 2009, as adjusted for subsequent published results
and announcements.
ENDS
For further information, or to arrange
interviews, please contact the Skipton Press Office on 08456
017247, email newsline@skipton.co.uk or
visit the press section of our website at www.skipton.co.uk
Tracy Fletcher, Head of PR
If outside Press Office hours (9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday),
please call 07867 851628
Or
The CIG Press Office on 0844 875 1458 or via Callcreditpr@golinharris.com
Or
Vitruvian Partners at www.vitruvianpartners.com
or via Toby Wyles on 0207 518 2810.
Editors' notes
Skipton Building Society Key Facts
- Skipton is the UK's fourth largest building society, with approximately 850,000 members, £15.2bn of assets and a national presence represented by its 90 branches, covering the country from Aberdeen to Plymouth. It heads the Skipton Building Society Group, whose subsidiary companies have significant interests in estate agency and related businesses (through the Connells and Sequence groups); third party mortgage servicing (Homeloan Management); independent financial and related advisory businesses, and support services to the mutual sector;
- Skipton is the first UK-wide financial services provider to receive the Customer First Framework - a quality assurance standard aimed at putting the customer first.
About CIG
- CIG was created as a start-up in the Skipton Group in 2000 to compete actively against the large incumbent credit rating agencies;
- It brings together experts across the fields of credit referencing, marketing services, interactive solutions and consultative analytics to enable its client base of businesses and consumers to make informed decisions using its innovative products and services. Find out more at www.callcreditgroup.com
- The group is made up of two complementary divisions:
- Credit Solutions, specialising in credit risk, decision analytics, Identity verifications services and tracing tools;
- Marketing Solutions, providing specialist knowledge in customer analytics, targeting, database building and hosting, marketing communications, business modelling and market analysis;
- In total CIG employs over 600 people across its sites in Leeds, Bristol and Gerrards Cross.
About Vitruvian Partners
- Vitruvian Partners is an independent private equity firm that specialises in backing entrepreneurial managers through middle-market buyouts, growth buyouts and growth capital investments in the UK and Northern Europe, in sectors such as Financial Services, Technology, Media, Business Services and Leisure;
- The Firm was founded by a group of principals whose experience in the industry dates back to 1990 and who have demonstrated an ability to invest successfully over multiple market cycles across a spectrum of industries.