Member Article

Temple Bright advises on sale of City communications firm Camarco to APCO Worldwide

Law firm Temple Bright has advised the majority shareholders of communications firm Camarco, headquartered in London’s Cannon Street, on the sale of the business to leading global advisory and advocacy firm APCO Worldwide.

The deal sees Camarco’s 40+ strong team of client-facing experts and specialists in accountancy, banking, broking, asset management, legal and journalism join the fast-growing APCO group of companies. Combining the firms will enable Camarco’s teams to tap into APCO’s global reach and deep expertise in corporate advisory and advocacy while bringing invaluable capabilities in investor relations and financial communications.

The deal elevates APCO’s C-suite advisory capabilities and spearheads an ambitious move to extend its counsel to stakeholders in the capital markets arena.

APCO CEO Brad Staples said of the acquisition: “Camarco has a proven track record of helping clients – companies in the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, multi-national, European-listed and private companies – navigate complex stakeholder issues, risks and opportunities and execute business strategies that boost valuation. Supported by a team of experts with decades of experience and established influential networks, Camarco provides a disciplined approach to execute and deliver at the highest level.”

APCO plans to leverage its global team to expand Camarco’s presence – anchored in London – to other leading financial centres around the world. Together, APCO and Camarco will deliver end-to-end advisory and advocacy services for global clients and provide support throughout the lifecycle of corporate transactions – from inception through regulatory approvals and from change management to integration.

Camarco CEO Geoffrey Pelham-Lane said: “APCO and Camarco share a host of common values, including our client-centric commitment and belief in the power of highly collaborative teams that is truly distinctive in our part of the market.

“We have pursued the principle of employee ownership right from the start, and equity was widely distributed with every member of the Camarco team benefiting. We are all extremely excited to combine our and APCO’s capabilities into a powerful blend of integrated solutions that will be highly appealing to boardrooms across the world.”

The team at Temple Bright was led by partner Stuart Hutson (corporate), working alongside partners Nick Burch (real estate), Carol Tricks (tax) and Caroline Leaver (employment).

Stuart Hutson said: “It was a real pleasure to advise the majority shareholders on this exciting deal, which should provide Camarco with the additional reach and resources to drive its next stage of growth. We expect to see powerful synergies and collaboration with APCO, as the positive chemistry between the teams was clear from the start.”

Geoffrey Pelham-Lane said: “Working with Stuart Hutson and his partners was a great experience. We really appreciated Temple Bright’s highly professional approach, which was committed, clear and commercial whilst being at the same time attentive to granular detail.”

APCO Worldwide was advised on the deal by global law firm Taylor Wessing, whose team was led by partner Jonny Bethell (corporate).

Temple Bright was launched in 2010 using a tech-enabled, streamlined business model involving advice provided exclusively by partners. It now has more than 70 partners spread between offices in Bristol and London EC2. The firm advises clients ranging from start-ups to PLCs across a broad range of sectors, with particular strength in M&A.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Temple Bright LLP .