HgCapital, the European sector focused private equity investor, has today announced the acquisition of Nair & Co.

Nair & Co provides a tailored solution for fast growing companies that are looking to expand into international markets, but do not have the technical or administrative expertise to do so. Nair & Co sets up the required international entities and integrates legal, accounting, payroll, tax and human resources services to ease the process of international expansion. Nair & Co is headquartered in Bristol, UK, with 450 employees based in offices in India, the US, Singapore, Japan and China.

HgCapital’s Services team has previously identified accountancy and trust/administrative services as a core focus area and the acquisition of Nair & Co illustrates HgCapital’s thematic approach to investing in its target sectors. HgCapital has a demonstrable track record of identifying and working with leading technology-enabled service companies to achieve sustainable growth. Most recently for example, HgCapital announced the sale of corporate services business ATC in June for an enterprise value of €303 million, representing an investment multiple of 2.2x original cost and a gross IRR of 37%.

The acquisition of Nair & Co is the fourth primary transaction completed by the Services team in the last three years, highlighting its ability to proactively seek out and develop relationships with owners of strong businesses over the long term. Nair & Co has all the characteristics that HgCapital looks for in an investment: it is a leader in a highly fragmented market with real growth potential, a large and diversified client base, and a significant and predictable proportion of repeat business.

Matthew Rourke, Partner and Head of HgCapital’s Services team, said:

“We have been researching this market segment for four years, and specifically following the progress of Nair & Co for over two years, so we are delighted we have been able to agree this investment with Shan Nair, the business co-founder. Companies are increasingly looking to expand into international markets but do not have the expertise or market knowledge to do so quickly or efficiently. Nair & Co specifically addresses this challenge and guides companies through the process. We see real growth potential for the company as more companies take advantage of the unique services Nair & Co offers.”

Shan Nair, co-Founder of Nair & Co. said:

HgCapital is a dynamic fast moving UK private equity house with an excellent track record of successfully investing in growth businesses.  Nair & Co.’s one stop business model for international expansion is highly attractive to international companies.  The combination of our talents and resources arising from this transaction will ensure we retain our industry-leading position while also enabling us to further enhance and broaden the quality services we offer our clients while taking our business up to the next level and fast tracking our growth rate.

The vendor was advised by Robert W. Baird Limited.