Citation Group
Sector: Professional Services
Backed By: HG Capital and KKR
Location: Wilmslow, UK
Sector: Professional Services
Backed By: HG Capital and KKR
Location: Wilmslow, UK
The Citation Group provides long-term, subscription-based Compliance (HR/Employment Law, Health & Safety) and Quality (ISO certification, supplier verification) services to over 40,000 SMEs throughout the UK. In doing so, it helps SMEs navigate the critical and complex regulatory environment with which they need to comply through its proprietary ‘Atlas’ technology platform and by providing 24/7 advice from highly-skilled and qualified experts.
KKR & Co. Inc. is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds.
Hg is a private equity firm targeting technology buyouts primarily in Europe and the US. Hg focuses on investments in technology and services sectors.
Hg first invested in Citation in 2016. In 2020, Hg announced the sale of Citation to KKR, a leading global investment firm. Recognising the significant potential for further investment, the development of Citation and both firms’ potential to contribute to this, KKR provided Hg with an option to reinvest in the next phase of Citation’s growth.
Citation has embarked on a successful buy and build strategy which has seen the business grow significantly since 2013, with 15 acquisitions completed over the 5 year period to 2022.
ARA Advisory partnered with the group M&A Director in support of a number of transactions towards the end of 2019.
We provided financial modeling services to support the onboarding of several acquisitions. The acquisitions are all service based businesses with largely recurring revenue generating business models.
Working alongside the M&A Director during the closing of the deal process, we used management information and advisor reports provided during due diligence and translated these into 5 year plans for each acquired business. We partnered with management in order to define robust assumptions which we could use to reflect expected post acquisition financial performance, taking into account revenue and cost synergies.
We created several 3 statement financial models.
We created several 5 year plans which were utilised by group and the acquired businesses in order to create a year 1 budget for the acquired businesses. The models were also rolled into the group investor model.
