Burges Salmon's corporate team has advised the outgoing founders, Sovereign Capital Partners and managers of the business on the sale of Lifetime Training, in the firm’s second significant transaction in the sector in recent months, having advised on the sale of Babington Group to RJD Partners in April.
Silverfleet Capital, the European private equity firm that specialises in buy-to-build, has invested alongside the existing management team in the acquisition of Lifetime Training, one of the UK's leading training providers.
The investment will ensure that Lifetime Training is able to progress with its organic growth strategy and also seek additional bolt-on acquisitions to further expand its value proposition.
Established in 1995, Lifetime Training's founding principle was to support individuals and businesses to perform better through the delivery of outstanding training programmes. Lifetime Training offers apprenticeship programmes, recruitment services and self-funded training courses. It works with some of the biggest, and smallest, employers in the UK across a wide range of business sectors including fitness and active leisure, beauty, hospitality, health and social care, retail, business and admin, and early years.
The Burges Salmon team, led by partner Richard Spink with support from senior associate Tim Roberts and specialists from across the firm, advised the outgoing founders, Sovereign Capital Partners and managers on all legal aspects of the sale.
Richard said: “Having worked closely with the founders of the business on Sovereign’s original investment in 2011 and during the period since, we were delighted to advise the sellers on what is a significant transaction in an evolving sector. Lifetime is a leading provider in this market and we are pleased to have been able to use our sector knowledge in helping it move into the next stage of its growth.”
Heather Frankham commented: “We have worked closely with Richard and his team since Sovereign’s original investment in 2011. The Burges Salmon team has genuine knowledge of the training sector and our business. That knowledge has been invaluable in helping us since 2011 and has played a major part in getting the deal to this stage. They bring a real team ethos to their work and it has been a pleasure to work with them.”