Tamweel’s… got talent!
(From left to right: Adam Spencer, Ali Aneizi, Ben Merrifield)
The last 12 months have been a busy period for us at Tamweel. Despite the political circus we’ve been in the trenches, fighting tooth and nail for our clients, getting deals over the line. We’ve closed 3 transactions in 7 months. Delivering knockout results, for knockout clients that are growing the next generation of category leaders.
Not wanting to be left out, we have also turned our attention to growth. And so, we have a new addition to our team. We’re no longer a duo, we’ve become a trio. Ali, Adam and now Ben! Think Yoda, Luke and Obi-Wan (none of us were cool enough to be Han Solo).
The reality is, Ben’s been working with us for a while, we’ve just been too busy to tell anyone. He’s a master of the M&A and Private Equity arts. A true Jedi deal doer who understands the ways of the Force. Oh, and he also owns a pub!
For the anoraks out there:
Ben started his career at Hawkpoint, advising on mid-market leisure, consumer and retail transactions. More recently, he was a founding Partner of Causeway Capital, a small-cap PE fund investing across the UK and Ireland. Prior to this, he spent 7 years at GI Partners, a $3bn transatlantic PE fund where he gained hands-on experience buying, restructuring and growing multi-site consumer facing businesses. His deals include the:
- £117m sale of Graphite backed Jane Norman to Bauger
- £111m sale of Hobbs by Barclays Private Equity to 3i
- £105m sale of 3i backed Republic to Change Capital
- £400m sale of RoadChef by Nikko to Delek Real Estate
- £500m debt restructuring of the Orchid Group
- Sale of Bel & The Dragon to Longshot Leisure
- Acquisition of Bakers & Baristas
- Growth capital raise for Ten Health & Fitness backed by Foresight
We had to twist Ben’s arm to comment (he’s quite shy), he eventually said: “I was introduced to Ali and Adam about a year ago and we hit it off. Their love for brand led businesses and their passion, creativity and obsession for client care was a real head turner for me. Since hanging up my suit, I’ve dived into their world and I’m glad to be one of the gang.”
Adam on the other hand is less shy, he said: “Ben is highly experienced, a hardcore deal doer with institutional and operational experience to boot. He has single handedly grown Tamweel’s headcount by 50%…not bad going for Day 1 in the office!”
