Grant Thornton advises Emperor Design Consultants Limited

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May 2022

Emperor Design Consultants Limited

Adviser to Emperor Design Consultants Limited on the financing of their EOT

£undisclosed

Grant Thornton team

Adam Hughes
Director, Corporate Finance Debt Advisory
George Fieldhouse
Partner, Head of Debt Advisory

Business support services

Debt advisory

We are delighted to have advised Emperor Design Consultants Limited on the financing of their Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

Headquartered in London, Emperor Design Consultants Limited (Emperor) is a leading corporate communications, branding and design agency with a network of offices across the UK and Dubai.

Following on from the successful sale of the majority shareholding to an EOT which we had advised on in 2020, we were reengaged by Emperor to provide debt advisory services to advise on the refinance of vendor loan notes.

The refinancing of the vendor loan notes was an important step towards completing Emperor’s transition to employee ownership and provides a platform for its future growth independent of the original shareholders.

Our corporate finance debt advisory team were selected due to our sector credentials and experience in financing EOTs. We were able to work with the business despite the global pandemic causing delays to achieve the right result for Emperor and all stakeholders.

We ran a competitive debt process approaching a cross section of the market which resulted in a solution provided by the Santander Growth Capital team that facilitated the full repayment of all remaining vendor loan notes, as well as supporting the ongoing working capital requirements of Emperor in a cost effective manner.

Testimonial

The financial structure now in place provides us with the foundation to sustain Emperor’s growth and develop the opportunities in our market for the benefit of the company and all our people. Grant Thornton’s advice and support in accessing the right lenders and managing the process was invaluable

Kingsley James Founder and Executive Director, Emperor Design Consultants Limited