Lexington Corporate Finance has acted as lead corporate finance advisor to Scott and Lynsey Fisher, the Shareholders of 4Wood TV and Film, one of the UK’s leading TV and film set design and build businesses, on its sale to the management team.
4Wood’s, which has a customer base including Netflix, Disney+, BBC and HBO, has worked on high-profile productions including His Dark Materials, Sex Education, Doctor Who and A Discovery of Witches. It operates across the three principal studios within South Wales alongside delivering projects across Pinewood Studios, Ealing Studios and other productions in the south-east and across the UK.
The sale was backed by Connection Capital, which has invested £6.4m in the business and taken an equity stake alongside the management team led by Andrew Forse, James Thorne and Richard Howell. Miles Otway and Lucy Merson worked on the investment for Connection Capital and will be joining the board of 4Wood.
As part of the transaction, executive chairman Chris Higgs and non-executive director, Travis Baxter – who have backgrounds in the TV and film production and media sectors – will join the board to help drive the growth of the business. Bank funding for the deal was provided by Virgin Money (Clydesdale Yorkshire Bank).
Lexington advised the shareholders throughout the transaction process and introduced the opportunity to Connection Capital. The Lexington Team of Thomas Edwards, Pablo Shorney and Jade Burgess together managed interactions with all the potential sponsors and steered the process through to a successful completion.
Miles Otway, partner at Connection Capital, said: “Gary, Thomas, Pablo and the whole team from Lexington were excellent throughout this process. Pragmatic and sensible and ensuring the vendors and the management team were well informed, well prepared and well represented throughout. We are delighted to complete the transaction and look forward to working with Lexington on more opportunities in future.”
Pablo Shorney, associate director at Lexington Corporate Finance, said: “We are delighted to have advised the shareholders on this transaction. Scott and Lynsey have built an exceptional business with a fantastic track record of delivering high quality tv and film sets for some of the world’s leading content creators. It was pleasure to work with the shareholders, management team and Connection Capital to deliver this result and we’re excited to see the group continue to thrive.”
Scott and Lynsey Fisher added: “’Prior to our acquisition we had no idea of the complexity and work involved in co-ordinating such a deal. We are incredibly grateful to Gary, Thomas, Pablo and their wider team. They guided us step by step through the entire process, and were continually on hand to offer advice, support and provide a listening ear.
“Without doubt, we would not have completed this deal without their knowledge and professionalism. We would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Lexington Corporate Finance.”