New Senior Debt, Equity to Support Redeem’s Growth

London and New York – September 17, 2014 – Praesidian Capital Europe and Connection Capital announced today their investment of £15 million in debt and equity in Redeem Holdings Limited, a UK -based mobile and electronics recommerce specialist.

Praesidian Capital Europe, which provides senior and subordinated debt and growth capital predominantly to UK companies, has invested £7M in debt capital and £1M in equity. An additional £2M will be available as an acquisition line of financing. Connection Capital, a private client investment business, has made a £5m equity investment in Redeem. Funds will be applied to support Redeem’s international organic growth and potential acquisitions.

Redeem is a global leader in ecommerce (recycling and take-back management) of mobile and electronic products. It is already the UK’s largest mobile recycling company. Revenues have grown at nearly 50% per annum compound over the last four years and are expected to reach £90 million in the current financial year.

Praesidian Capital Europe and Connection Capital are backing a high-calibre management team led by Founder and Chairman Trevor Bayley, an experienced private equity professional who was a founding partner of HgCapital. Redeem’s CEO is Claes Svensson, formerly a Vice President at Sony Ericsson, responsible for Western Europe.

“We are very pleased to have secured significant institutional backing to maintain our rapid growth,” Bayley said. “We selected Praesidian Capital and Connection Capital for their commerciality and have been delighted with the rapid delivery of a competitive funding package. We will continue to review our corporate funding options, including flotation, as we plan to treble in size over the next three years.”

The mobile handset recycling market has taken off in recent years with the advent of valuable smartphones. The UK is leading this rapid development with the rest of the world also seeing increasing levels of growth in the sector. The market is mirroring the growth of mobile phones in the 1990s with new product launches driving awareness and growth. The keenly anticipated launch of the iPhone6 is expected to lead to a surge in the number of used handsets being recycled as owners of older models trade in against their new purchases.

The vast majority of the traded-in devices that Redeem handles are data wiped, refurbished and resold into a growing number of end markets, which include European phone retailers, mobile phone retail shops and insurance companies. Devices are also sold in developing countries where consumers wish to access the latest products but are unable to afford new devices.

In 2012, Redeem was listed 41 in the Sunday Times Fast Track 100. In July 2014 it came 55 in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 ranking of Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest growing international sales.

Jason Drattell, founder of Praesidian Capital, noted that “We are excited that our UK team has found such an interesting company with high growth potential. We anticipate more investments of this calibre in the near future.”

According to Anthony Brennan, Partner at Praesidian Capital Europe, “We are delighted to work with Connection Capital to invest in this excellent growth opportunity. We look forward to working with Redeem in a supportive capacity and as a long-term committed investor in a dynamic and growing UK business.”

Julian Carr, Partner at Connection Capital said, “Redeem is a great business led by multiple opportunities to expand, particularly overseas, and we anticipate strong returns for our clients.”

Claire Madden, Partner at Connection Capital added, “Redeem is an excellent example of the type of high-quality investment our clients can invest in. Demand for the opportunity was strong and consequently it was oversubscribed.”

Praesidian Capital Europe
Praesidian Capital Europe is an innovative private investment firm focused on providing senior and subordinated debt along with growth capital to private lower middle market businesses in the United Kingdom, Germany, and selectively in Northern Europe. Based in London, Praesidian invests in established, small and mid-sized companies often in connection with management for buyouts, recapitalizations or refinancings. Its parent company, Praesidian Capital, is based in New York and manages more than $900 million in committed capital. For more information, visit www.praesidian.com.

Connection Capital
Connection Capital is a private client investment business, which allows individuals to build a broad portfolio of direct private equity and property investments. The business provides investors with a fully managed service whereby clients have the ability to invest on a deal by deal basis as part of an organised syndicate. It currently has over 750 clients with a net worth of over £7bn and over £150m of funds under management.

Redeem Holdings Limited
With headquarters in Bathgate near Edinburgh, Scotland, Redeem currently operates in 23 countries on three continents with regional offices in Iberia (Madrid, Spain); Nordic/Baltics (Sweden/Estonia); Middle East (Dubai) and Asia (Hong Kong). Redeem is the only company with the ability to source used handsets from three distinct, direct channels: Mobile Network Operators (“MNOs”); consumers through its internet based business Envirofone; businesses across Europe which are serviced by dedicated telesales teams. The company was founded in 2011 and now employs 273 people.

Media Contacts Praesidian Capital Europe:
Abernathy MacGregor – 213.630.6550
Rivian Bell, rlb@abmac.com
Kristin Cole, kec@abmac.com

Connection Capital:
Russell O’Connor
UK — Tel: 07760 282586