Torchlight's owners asked us to help them develop their exit strategy. And when the time was right to sell, they asked us to help us find a new owner for their successful business...
Torchlight supports governments, international institutions and organisations in building capacity and developing capability to address the underlying drivers of serious and organised crime, irregular and illegal migration, counter-extremism, and counter-terrorism.
Torchlight’s co-founders Ed Dickson and Sean Lumley came to us to support the development of the business with a view to eventual exit. Our relationship with Torchlight spanned over six years including a period in which one of our team served as an NED. Along that journey, we advised the team on best practice to ensure that value was maximised on exit.
Through our support and strategic guidance, we helped Torchlight’s management team to position and prepare the business for a sale. When the opportunity presented itself, we negotiated a deal that saw the business acquired by Axiom, a portfolio company of Limerston Capital. The acquisition of Torchlight is the next step of an ambitious growth strategy aimed at creating a leading international security and criminal justice capacity building organisation.
"Following the successful sale of our business I was asked who had been the single most influential figure along the way. For me, that was an easy one to answer – Jim Shaw. Shaw & Co were with us at every key stage of our business journey, through the good times and the bad. By taking the time to fully understand our sector, our business and our team, they were able to use their knowledge, insight and foresight to address the issues of the moment, whilst ensuring it never jeopardised the future. I cannot recommend Shaw & Co highly enough to any business owner – there is no other team I would want in my corner.”
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Shaw & Co were with us at every key stage of our business journey, through the good times and the bad. "
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