Our Restructuring and Advisory Division advises Whistl on acquisition of leading FMCG agency
Our Restructuring and Advisory Division has acted as lead financial advisor to Whistl, the UK’s leading logistics specialists in e-fulfilment, mail and parcels on its acquisition of product sampling agency Relish from Kin & Carta plc.
The transaction involving the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brand represents the fourth acquisition that Our Restructuring and Advisory Division has led the advice to Whistl on in the last four years.
Product sampling agency Relish specialises in the FMCG and beauty sectors, helping brands target consumers directly through relevant partners and counts industry leaders like ASOS, Boohoo, Deliveroo, PrettyLittleThing, HelloFresh and Cadbury among its clients.
Located in the South West, Relish was founded in 2011 and is led by managing directors Natalie Betts and Jonny Hall and will remain a standalone brand with its 20+ person team. The agency has conducted campaigns in the UK, Ireland, France, USA and Australia to date.
The acquisition of Relish is the latest Whistl transaction Our Restructuring and Advisory Division has provided lead corporate finance advice on following deals to acquire Clientbase in December 2020, Spark Ecommerce Group in January 2019, Parcelhub and Mail Workshop in July 2018, and Prism in July 2017.
The Our Restructuring and Advisory Division was led by Managing Director Ian Barton.
He said: “It was a pleasure to advise Nick, Manoj and Mark Davies on another acquisition. Relish broadens the channel proposition to advertisers that Whistl can offer, and further builds on Whistl’s growth and ambition seen through recent years both via acquisitions and organic growth.
“Given the nature of the deal and its separation from the Kin & Carta group as whole, this deal required a coordinated effort from the whole Whistl team and their advisers working seamlessly across numerous workstreams to get the deal done. We wish all parties continued success as Whistl continues to further grow its market position across a range of channels.”
Nick Wells, CEO of Whistl, said: ““Having provided lead corporate finance advice to Whistl on four previous acquisitions, we were delighted to work with Ian and the Quantuma team on this transaction. They advised Whistl through the process and helped deliver this deal as one of a number of divestments being made by Kin & Carta taking into account the additional complexities that being one of several parallel transactions involved.”
