Knights’ Corporate team advised of a trio of deals that completed recently – including the sale of the UK’s leading provider of live streaming and audio-visual technologies.
All three deals were led by Corporate Partner Dominic Travers, with expert support from across Knights’ team on the south coast.
In January, the team advised the shareholders of Public-i on its sale to Sweden-based Lyvia Group’s UK business.
Public-i’s technology is changing the face of local government by allowing for secure voting and information sharing to take place remotely.
The business has built up a reputation for excellence from its base in Hove over more than 20 years.
As well as Dominic Travers the Knights team comprised Sam Steckler (corporate), Sarah Burke and Beth Hullah (employment) and David Nicholls (commercial property).
Public-i CEO, Alan Price, said:
“Lyvia’s acquisition of our company offers us an exciting opportunity to further develop our market-leading products and build on our heritage of first-class customer service.
“Throughout the acquisition process, Lyvia have shown an appreciation for our company culture of working as partners with Local Government and we are excited to start working with a parent company which shares our ethos.
“With Lyvia’s support, we are looking to continue to drive product development and bring more features to our client base.”
The sale of Public-i rounded-off a flurry of deals completed by Dominic and the team.
This includes acting for the shareholders of Somerset-based Kettlewell Colours Limited on its sale to Refined Brands – which has a portfolio of ethically-sourced, natural and sustainable British businesses.
Making Kettlewell Colours Limited a perfect fit – having built a reputation for matching customers’ skin, eyes and hair with clothes in the perfect palette of seasonal colours to suit them.
The Knights project team was Dominic Travers, Sam Steckler and Peter Abel (corporate), Sarah Burke (employment) and David Nicholls (commercial property).
Melissa Nicholson, who founded Kettlewell Colours with husband John in 2004, said:
"I am thrilled to be joining a fantastic group of entrepreneurial British brands with sustainability at their heart.
"I am really looking forward to partnering with the Refined Brands team to accelerate the growth of Kettlewell Colours in the UK and Internationally, introducing more people to the powerful benefits of wearing your best colours."
The third deal completed recently saw Knights advise the shareholders of high speed printed electronics manufacturer Flexotronix Limited.
Hove-based Flexotronix has been acquired by Sapphiros UK, which is backed by leading global investment firm KKR, after building a reputation as a leader in the field of diagnostic test control mechanisms – reducing costs, increasing efficiencies and improving data management across a range of consumer diagnostics, including lateral flow tests.
Flexotronix was backed by The Gates Foundation to establish a compliant high-volume diagnostic test manufacturing process with dedicated access to volume for lower- and middle-income countries.
Knights’ team that advised on the sale included Dominic Travers, Sam Steckler, Sarah Burke (employment) and Guy Cartwright (commercial contracts).
Jeremy Burbidge, CEO of Flexotronix, said:
"We are extremely excited to be part of Sapphiros and have an aligned vision to deliver transformative consumer diagnostics.”
Dominic Travers, Corporate Partner at Knights, said:
“We’re really pleased to have supported three great clients. It’s a testament to the breadth of expertise that we have at Knights that we were able to advise on all three in such quick succession.
“A huge thanks to everyone involved – we’re looking forward to seeing all three businesses continue to flourish in the future.”
Knights is one of the fastest-growing legal and professional services businesses in the UK – ranked within the top 50 UK law firms by revenue, with specialists in all key areas of corporate and commercial law.