News Spokespeople - Broomfield & Alexander Chartered Accountants

Directors of The y3s Group buy out major shareholde

There hasn’t been much good news in the financial markets since the beginning of the credit crunch in the autumn of last year, so it’s good to hear that two local businessmen have shown confidence in their industry by purchasing the balance of the shareholdings in their businesses, from the Monaco based venture capitalist Marc Bertola of The Vantage Group, which operates a variety of financial interests including commercial and residential funding organisations and a secured loan network.

Matt Cottle and Barney Drake, directors of y3sloans.com and its associated subsidiaries Intelligent Loans and b2b Loans & Mortgages, have completed a deal which takes them to full ownership of the business.

The move marks a new era for the group which started as a small credit brokerage seven years ago employing just three people at a small flexible office in Cardiff Bay, with its initial capital provided by Bertola. The group now employs around seventy staff on three sites in Cardiff, with the head office situated on Ocean Way in a state of the art purpose-built office.

The transaction was carried out by Broomfield Alexander professional advisors and Capital Law LLP. It is understood that the deal was made up of an initial lump sum plus deferred consideration, during which time Bertola will remain as a consultant to the business. At the time of writing, Cottle and Drake had completed the first stage of the process to obtain full control.

Leighton Reed tax director of Broomfield & Alexander said, “structuring this deal to minimise the tax implications for Matt and Barney was my chief concern especially as the whole deal was completed in record time. Full ownership will now give the guys the opportunity to take charge of the business and implement and fulfil their plans for the company, and I wish them every success”.

Duncan Macintosh, senior partner of Capital Law said “in what can be a cloak and dagger industry, y3sloans.com is a true example of the way a finance brokerage should be run. We are very proud to be associated with the guys at y3s and wish them the very best”.

The group provides secured loan packaging facilities for financial advisers and mortgage brokers throughout the UK and is widely recognised as the leader in its field. Its business is at the epicentre of the credit crunch, and despite reporting a profit of £2.3m for the last year of trading, has for the first time seen an inevitable decline in both turnover and profits for the current financial year across its interests.

Commenting on the transaction Cottle said “It’s fantastic news for our employees and a great result for Wales. We have put our money where our mouth is and shown that there are good investments to make in these troubled times. We are, after all, at the bottom of an economic cycle and I urge all entrepreneurs to make bold decisions to get this country moving again.

Ours is a wonderful success story for an indigenous business, which has come about through years of hard work and risk taking. This isn’t the end of the story by any means; in many ways it’s a restart, with a lot of effort required to succeed through and beyond the current economic situation. We have the right team and a strong strategy with which to do it”.

The main business y3sloans.com features regularly in the Wales Fast Growth 50, and last year scooped its most prestigious award, Employer of the Year, at The Orange National Business Awards, ahead of financial giants RBS and Barclays. The judges found that Cottle and Drake showed ‘benevolence and generosity’ to their employees whenever they could.

For more information on the tax implications of your deal please contact Leighton Reed on 029 2054 9939 or email tax@broomfield.co.uk.