ONSIDE / NEWS
Seneca Supports UK’s First Starbucks Franchise
S
eneca have supported a multi-million pound deal by
providing a cornerstone seven figure investment to 23.5
Degrees Limited, Starbucks’ first franchisee globally.
The transaction was led by Connection Capital and the total
funding package of more than £10m will enable 23.5 Degrees
to open 12 new stores per annum for the next 4 years.
Seneca’s Investment Director, John Davies commented,
“23.5 Degrees is run by an established, high quality
management team and Seneca are pleased to be supporting
their growth plans. Starbucks is an instantly recognisable
international brand with a strong customer base and the
market is well positioned for significant further growth
over the coming years. We are excited to be working with
Connection and the 23.5 Degrees management team and
look forward to growing the Starbucks partnership over
the next few years.”
With over 20,000 stores worldwide Starbucks recently
announced plans to open 1,500 franchise stores in the
UK over the next 5-7 years. 23.5 Degrees are led by a very
strong management team and are well placed to continue to
develop their partnership with Starbucks as they increase
the scale of their franchise estate. 23.5 Degrees is led by
Anil Patil, Mark Hepburn and James Garner who have
extensive food retail backgrounds with brands including
Dominos, Burger King, Costa Coffee and KFC.
Seneca Partners Director, Richard Manley added, “We
continue to see strong demand for the type of growth
capital that we provide across all sectors. EIS particularly
has a crucial role to play in continuing to provide a route
via which SMEs can attract finance to support their growth.
We are looking to add to our portfolio of investee companies
with a particular focus on those companies whose funding
requirement is between £1m and £3m. We are excited about
working with more high growth companies and supporting
them on their journey as they continue to grow.”
Dealmakers Awards glory for Seneca
S
eneca and sister company Acceleris Capital scored
two victories at the Insider North West Dealmaker
Awards 2015.
Acceleris Capital’s Simon Thorn won the prestigious Young
Dealmaker of the Year 2015. Simon was recognised for his
work in a number of early stage transactions over the past
year, including the £15m IPO of Redx Pharma Limited,
the merger of EveryCloud Computing and Vapour Media
and successfully administering the spin-out of Redag
Crop Limited. Simon is based in the Manchester office
of Acceleris Capital and also assists with the Seneca EIS
Portfolio Service.
The second award was presented to Acceleris Capital and
Baker Tilly for ‘AIM Deal of the Year 2015’ for the IPO
of Redx Pharma Limited. The Acceleris and Seneca EIS
Portfolio company was admitted to AIM in March 2015 at
a market cap of £55.2m. The company was incorporated in
2010 with fundraising assistance from Acceleris, and now
provides approximately 160 jobs across the North West.
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