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The firm acted for joint bookrunners Allenby Capital, Dowgate Capital and Stifel Nicolaus Europe on the fundraising, the largest on AIM so far in 2023, to finance Franchise Brand's acquisition of Pirtek Europe Limited.
European law firm Fieldfisher has acted for the joint bookrunners on the placing and subscription by AIM-listed international multi-brand franchisor Franchise Brands plc to raise approximately £97 million to help fund its £200 million acquisition of industrial services provider, Hydraulic Authority I Limited, the owner of Pirtek Europe Limited.
Fieldfisher advised Allenby Capital Limited and Dowgate Capital Limited in their capacities as bookrunners in the UK, and Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited in its capacity as bookrunner for the US and Europe in respect of the fundraising.
Pirtek is an established European provider of on-site hydraulic hose replacement and associated services.
Franchise Brands' decision to acquire Pirtek is in line with its strategy to complement organic growth with selective accretive acquisitions focused on B2B franchise systems of van-based businesses, such as Pirtek.
The acquisition and associated fundraising are two of the largest transactions on AIM so far this year.
The Fieldfisher team advising Allenby, Dowgate and Stifel was led by Fieldfisher's Head of Equity Capital Markets Brad Isaac, assisted by senior associate Lily Searle.
Commenting on the fundraising, corporate partner Brad Isaac said:
"The size of this fundraising is encouraging for AIM-listed clients looking to do deals this year. Allenby, Dowgate and Stifel are longstanding clients of the firm and it was a pleasure to work with them on such a significant deal."
Fieldfisher's Band 1-ranked equity capital markets team advised on £1.1 billion of transactions in 2022 and was ranked as the leading legal adviser to AIM-listed companies by deal volume and value last year, according to Perfect Information's ECMI Annual Report 2022.