VCT News
Beringea's ProVen Media VCT invests in Marketing services group Gyro
11 February 2005 - Beringea Ltd today announced the management buy-out of Gyro Group PLC, the UK's leading integrated, B2B brand communications agency. Beringea's ProVen Media VCT formed part of a syndicate of funds in a total investment of £3m. Other funds in the syndicate included Electra Unquoted Management, Matrix Private Equity and Octopus Asset Management.
The investment will allow the Chelsea-based group to reorganise its shareholding structure and buy out one of the founders, and will also provide working capital to support the ongoing growth of the business.
Gyro was founded in 1991 and has established offices in London, Geneva, Stockholm, Amsterdam, New York and San Francisco and has recently opened in Dublin. A Hamburg office is expected to open shortly as a result of increasing levels of business activity in Germany.
The company provides an integrated suite of marketing services including brand strategy, direct marketing, on and off-line advertising, media planning, web marketing and event management. In the year to October 2004, the company had fee income of approximately £12m.
Gyro's single focus is the technology and financial services sectors and it is known for providing innovative solutions for clients, who benefit from high returns on investment. Gyro's clients include Adobe Systems, Sony, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Iomega, MCI, Deutsche Bank, American Express, Orange and, most recently, they have won Symantec's business in EMEA.
Commenting on the deal, Beringea's Trevor Hope said: "This is an excellent quality investment for Beringea and the syndicate funds. Gyro has an impressive customer base, a highly capable and ambitious management team and the business has a strong track record. It is pre-eminent among its peer group and recent trading performance has been particularly impressive. We believe with this investment, the team will be able to deliver substantial growth in the UK and internationally to become the international market leader in its field."
About Beringea
Beringea is an international venture capital firm with offices in London and Detroit. In the UK Beringea manages ProVen VCT, ProVen Health VCT, ProVen Growth & Income VCT and Global Rights Fund II. Beringea launched its first VCT in 1996, making it one of the most experienced VCT managers in the UK. ProVen Growth & Income and ProVen VCT are highest performing VCTs of their launch years, respectively, according to www.taxefficientreview.com. For more information please visit www.provenvcts.co.uk.