Burger King owner Bridgepoint in £800m swoop on advisory firm Interpath
The advisory firm which oversaw a controversial costs purge at Manchester United Football Club is being sold to the owner of Burger King’s British operations in a deal worth more than £800m.
Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint, the London-listed buyout firm, has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Interpath Advisory.
A deal could be announced as soon as Monday morning, according to banking sources.
Bridgepoint’s agreement to buy Interpath from fellow private equity firm HIG Europe will come after a hotly fought auction which was due to result in a second round of bids later this month.
Blackstone, Onex, PAI Partners and Permira were among the other bidders which expressed interest in acquiring Interpath, the former restructuring arm of KPMG UK.
Interpath was spun out of KPMG UK in 2021 in a deal triggered by the changing regulatory climate in the audit profession.
Growing concerns over conflicts of interest between accountancy giants’ audit and consulting arms had been exacerbated by the collapse of companies such as BHS and Carillion, prompting a number of disposals by ‘big four’ firms.
Interpath has advised on a string of prominent restructuring and cost-saving mandates for clients, including acting as administrator to the UK and Ireland subsidiaries of Claire’s, the accessories retailer which collapsed last summer.
It is now being lined up as administrator to the British arm of the casual dining chain TGI Fridays, and is also advising family-owned shoe retailer Russell & Bromley on a potential sale.
Among its other roles was being recruited by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sports to help cut costs at Manchester United FC following its acquisition of a stake in the Premier League club in 2024.
Interpath’s sale to Bridgepoint is the latest in a wave of takeovers in the UK professional services and financial advisory sector as private equity investors seek new deal opportunities in a high-margin sector of the economy.
Sources said that Interpath had doubled its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation since HIG Europe acquired the business four-and-a-half years ago.
It recently published financial results showing a 26% increase in revenues to nearly £200m.
“Although we’re only four years old, we have a clear vision to become one of the world’s leading advisory firms and have made enormous strides towards that goal – planting the Interpath flag in major financial centres across the globe, making bold acquisitions, hiring market-leading professionals, and investing in our people and infrastructure,” Mark Raddan, its chief executive, said.
Mr Raddan and other senior executives are expected to retain a stake in the firm following the completion of the Bridgepoint deal.
HIG Europe, has been advised by bankers at Moelis on the auction.
Neither Bridgepoint nor HIG Europe could be reached for comment.
