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Copper Street acquires Thistle Initiatives Group Limited

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We are pleased to announce that we have acquired a majority stake in Thistle Initiatives Group Limited.  Please see the press release below.

London, 14 October 2022:

Investment in the regulatory compliance consultancy marks Copper Street Capital’s fifth investment, as the private equity investor widens its portfolio across lower mid-market European financial services.

Thistle Initiatives Group will use Copper Street investment to double in size over the next three years through organic growth and acquisition.

Copper Street Capital, the private equity investor focused on lower mid-market European financial services, has invested in regulatory consultancy group, Thistle Initiatives Group Limited.

Founded in 2012, Thistle Initiatives Group has grown into a multi-award-winning regulatory consultancy, providing expert regulatory advice and support for a vast and varied client base of UK and international firms operating across the spectrum of financial services.

The investment will support the long-term growth of Thistle Initiatives Group, with a goal to more than double in size over the next three years through both organic growth and acquisition. Thistle is well placed to become a leader in the rapidly growing compliance consultancy market, due to its expertise across key areas impacted by structural tailwinds in the sector such as consolidation, the growth of fintech and an increased focus on financial crime and regulatory changes following Brexit.

The transaction marks Copper Street Capital’s fifth investment, as it continues to expand its reach across lower mid-market European financial services. Its wider portfolio includes Lantern, a leading player in the UK speciality finance debt purchase market, One Four Nine Group, an independent UK financial advice and fund management group and Saranac Partners, a private office providing bespoke advice and investment management services to ultra-high net worth clients.

The investment builds on a strong period of activity for Copper Street Capital, having announced last month the successful divestment of its minority stake in Italian mobile payments service Satispay, after initially investing in the company in 2018. Since then, Satispay has seen exceptional growth and become Italy’s largest mobile payments provider.

Jerry del Missier, founding partner of Copper Street Capital, said, “Since launching Copper Street Capital, we’ve continued to invest in exceptional businesses across the spectrum of financial services – so we are pleased to welcome Thistle Initiatives Group into the Copper Street family.

“Having worked with Thistle over the past few years as clients, we have continuously been impressed with their work and the scale of their ambition. We look forward to supporting the leadership team as they continue growing the company into a leader in compliance consultancy.

“The demand for compliance services is increasing in the face of numerous market tailwinds, including significant market consolidation, the growth in financial technology, a higher degree of focus on financial crime, and increased regulator independence as a result of Brexit. Thistle has established itself as an agile multi-disciplinary leader in the sector and is well-positioned to continue capturing market share.”

James Dingwall, CEO and founder of Thistle Initiatives Group, said, “Copper Street’s investment into Thistle Initiatives Group will enable us to accelerate our growth as we look to build Thistle into a market leader in regulatory consultancy, through both organic growth and acquisition. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the team at Copper Street and benefitting from their valuable insight and support.”

Alongside James, Thistle’s senior management team will also include Group Managing Director Sophie Long and joint Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Michael Bellenger.

Justin Bull, Chief Operating Officer and Partner, and Elliot Tahmasebi, Principal, at Copper Street Capital, will also hold seats on the Thistle Initiatives Group board.

Copper Street Capital was supported on the transaction by Proskauer Rose, DLA Piper, PwC, RSM and Oliver Wyman.

Copper Street Capital announces successful divestment of minority stake in Satispay

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We are pleased to announce a successful divestment of our minority stake in Satispay.  Please see the press release below:

The exit comes as Satispay exceeds €1bn valuation.

Satispay has achieved ~800% growth in consumers since Copper Street invested in 2018 at €100m valuation (1).

The deal marks Copper Street Capital’s first significant exit in its private equity portfolio.

The resulting capital will continue to be used to invest in future deals across European financial services sector companies.

London, 28th September, 2022:

Copper Street Capital, the private equity investor focused on the European financial services sector, has divested its minority stake in Italian mobile payments service, Satispay.

The mobile payment service, launched in 2015, simplifies every-day payments for consumers and cuts transaction fees for retailers, helping them transition to mobile payments.

Copper Street invested in Satispay in 2018 and since then, the company has achieved an exceptional growth, reaching 3,000,000 consumers and 200,000 merchants, representing an increase of 800% and 450% respectively since the investment. It is currently Italy’s largest mobile payments provider and is expanding across Europe, with offices in Berlin and Luxembourg.

The Satispay deal marks Copper Street’s first significant exit from its private equity portfolio, which also includes Lantern, a leading player in the UK speciality finance debt purchase market, and One Four Nine Group, an independent UK financial advice and fund management group aiming to disrupt the advice industry.

Copper Street Capital’s investment strategy targets long-term strategic investments in financial services by capturing value opportunities in businesses across their entire life cycle, from growth investments to mature businesses, by partnering with ambitious and enthusiastic founders, entrepreneurs and management teams.

Jerry del Missier, Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Copper Street Capital said: 

“It has been highly rewarding to work with Satispay over the past four years, helping guide its strategy, providing key introductions and assisting in the expansion of its banking network. The business has seen strong growth and made a significant impact on an important part of the financial services landscape.

The company has been a strong fit with our investment philosophy and belief in the European financial services sector, and we continue to explore new investment opportunities in the space.”

1 https://copperstreetcapital.com/2018/07/16/copper-street-capital-lead-investor-in-satispays-latest-funding-round/

Satispay LinkedIn Press Release

European banks need cost-cutting not cross-border M&A

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In an article published in the Financial Times on 15 November 2020, Jerry del Missier explains why he thinks European banks need to cut costs rather than enter into cross border deals. It is Jerry’s belief that “we require consolidation not across borders or between bloated giants, but domestically to reduce fragmentation and eliminate the subscale players.”  Click on the link below to read the full article.

20201115 FT Article

Click on the link below to read a Letter to the Editor in response to Jerry’s article of the 15 November 2020 (Tom Groom, EY Head of Financial Services Strategic Cost Transformation for EMEIA, and UK Head of Financial Services Strategy and Transactions).  Published 19 November 2020.

20201119 FT – Letter to the Editor