Background
Bespoke telephony provider Callagenix was founded by Mark and Tony Jenkins in 1999. Both directors come from a background in IT and Telecoms and following the sale of another business in 1998, the shareholders were eager to explore web-based opportunities, and so Callagenix was established based on being able to generate a number of clients online and configure multiple managed services to sit behind that number. The shareholders spent the late nineties and early noughties programming, developing and building integrated systems with links into BT and other Tier 1 providers. The company was established to create a self-sufficient business model within the telecoms arena, which required little maintenance from a cash-flow perspective, as well as from a user perspective allowing customers to manage the products and services independently via an online platform.
Advice, Planning and Preparation
Having previously experienced the generalist broker approach towards the transaction process, shareholders Mark and Tony sought the advice of a specialist advisor, with the market intelligence and proven methodologies to achieve outstanding outcomes. With over 20 years’ experience exclusively advising shareholders of IT, telco and telecoms businesses, Evolution Capital was selected as the chosen advisory boutique to guide the founders through the business exit process.
“When you’re looking at appointing an advisor, you’re looking at several factors; obviously you want to get the maximum amount of value you can for the business at the point that you’re selling… When we went through this process before, they [the broker] was not a specialist. I think, this time around, going with a specialist advisor in the telecoms arena, who understands the challenges for the buyer, and the seller as well, has proved to be the correct decision.” Mark Jenkins
Preparation remains to be a key pillar of the Evolution Capital methodology. Our meticulous attention to detail in preparing the businesses we serve enables our team to unlock intrinsic value, and to later protect and defend the valuation of the business through buyer investigation and financial due diligence.
The Challenge
The nature of Callagenix, its services and its business model are all deeply bespoke, and so presenting such intricacies to potential acquirers could have been challenging had the advisory team leading the transaction process been ill-equipped in understanding the business and sector. However,the Evolution Capital team have an unparalleled understanding of current telephony market trends and temperature, allowing the necessary adjustments and advice to be implemented in order to appeal to the right buyer – not just any buyer – and achieve outstanding outcomes.
“As the process unfolded, it became clear that it was actually very good value for money… At the end of the day, a lot more work and effort went into that preparation of the business and the IM, than I would have initially imagined. This ultimately allowed valuation of the business to be defended further on, I think that you guys really know that at Evolution Capital.” Mark Jenkins
A successful outcome
In January 2023, Mark and Tony Jenkins completed the sale of the business to Chess, with the guidance, preparation and support through due diligence of the Evolution Capital team.
“…We probably learnt more about our business going through the process with you guys, than we perhaps did beforehand… Would we have achieved maximum value for the business if we had managed the process ourselves, or by using a different advisor? I don’t think so.” Tony Jenkins
Read more about the transaction here: https://www.evolutioncapital.com/news/chess-acquire-bespoke-telephony-platform-callagenix
