Status: Realised Date: 2010 - 2015 Sectors: Financial Services & Insurance Business & Technology Services Buy & Build: 8 BACK TO INVESTMENTS INVESTMENT BACKGROUND Cordium (previously called IMS Consulting Group) was founded in 1997 to provide regulatory consulting services to regulated financial services firms. The quality of its offering coupled with the increased regulatory requirements of financial services firms, resulted in the business growing steadily. By 2010 the owner wished to step back from the day-to-day running of the business and realise some of the value he had created in the business, while retaining a shareholding going forward. He needed a solution to the succession issue as well as an investor that would support Cordium to achieve further growth. He chose Sovereign. As part of the succession planning, Sovereign introduced an experienced CEO, Michel van Leeuwen, and Tony Solway as Non-Executive Chairman. Michel had more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services and technology sectors. Tony was previously CEO at BNP Paribas Securities Services. VALUE CREATION Sovereign introduced an experienced CEO and Non-Executive Chairman at time of the original acquisition to address succession planning 8 acquisitions completed 5 new overseas locations added organically and through acquisition Increased its client base nearly fourfold, from around 400 at the time of Sovereign’s investment to 1,500 in 2014 Broadened service offering and created web-based software solutions THE BUSINESS AT EXIT In partnership with Sovereign, Cordium made eight strategic acquisitions. Some of the owners of these businesses wished to retire, while simultaneously securing the long-term future of the business. Others were attracted by the opportunity to access new funding, new markets and to become part of a rapidly expanding group. Sovereign’s in-house research team sourced all eight acquisitions, including: HedgeOp in New York, HedgeStart in London and Zodiac Advisory Services in Malta. International expansion: Cordium opened its first office in Asia, in Hong Kong, in response to strong customer demand. In addition, through overseas acquisitions, the Group transformed from being a London-based business to one with offices across the world. New services: The Group broadened its service offering to include accounting and tax alongside software services and became known for its innovative web-based software solutions. At exit, Cordium had grown to become one of the world’s largest independent compliance and regulatory consultancies to hedge and private equity funds. BACK TO INVESTMENTS IN THEIR OWN WORDS Sovereign stood out because they truly understood Cordium and our market – others said the right buzzwords but Sovereign knew what they were talking about. From the outset we operated as a team; Sovereign didn’t dictate to us but instead we worked alongside each other towards a shared vision for Cordium. Michel van Leeuwen, former CEO HOME WHO WE ARE Our Values Our Story Our Team OUR APPROACH YOUR JOURNEY Accelerate Growth Sell your business Own the business you run OUR INVESTMENTS NEWS CONTACT US Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy All Content © Sovereign Capital 2021 SOVEREIGN CAPITAL PARTNERS 25 Victoria Street London SW1H 0EX Get Directions T:+44 (0)20 7340 8800 Email Site by Chaos Our website uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. AGREE & CLOSE