Lord Ashcroft to make £300m windfall from sale of recruitment firm

The former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party founded Impellam in 2008. Photo: Holly Adams for The Telegraph

Tory donor Lord Ashcroft landed a £300 million windfall from the sale of the recruitment business he founded.

Impellam Group, which is 62% owned by Lord Ashcroft, will be taken private by Dutch rival HeadFirst Global for £483 million after both parties reached an agreement. deal.

Lord Ashcroft, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, founded Impellam in 2008 and is its chairman.

Impellam specializes in recruiting for biotech companies, with a particular focus on finding people who can fill highly specialized roles such as data scientists, scientists and clinicians. The company previously owned Medacs Global, which supplied locum doctors to the National Health Service. The company sold the division for £85 million earlier this year.

Impellam had revenues of £1.9 billion last year and adjusted profits of £34.2 million.

Lord Ashcroft, who announced his intention to sell the company in April 2022, said he was pleased with the deal. He praised the «significant value» created for shareholders and said the combination of Impellam and HeadFirst would strengthen both companies.

Lord Ashcroft, who was made a life peer in 2000, has business interests spanning several sectors. The serial entrepreneur is the majority shareholder of Gusbourne, the English sparkling wine producer, and owns the media company behind brands including Conservative Home and Biteback Publishing.

The 77-year-old businessman also owns a significant stake. at data processing company Jaywing.

Impellam, which has been listed on the stock market for 15 years, is based in Luton and employs around 2,000 people.

It becomes the latest company to to leave the London Stock Exchange this year after a series of private equity deals and acquisitions. Other companies to exit the company include Hotel Chocolat and energy company Smart Metering Systems.

The complex deal will see Impellam shareholders receive 557.2 pence in cash and 392.8 pence worth of notes, which can later be exchanged for cash or shares in the enlarged HeadFirst group. Shareholders will also receive a dividend.

The total offer is about two-thirds more than Impellam's closing share price on Tuesday.

Dutch buyer Headfirst was founded in 1995. Private equity firm IceLake has backed him in 2022 with additional financial muscle.

The takeover follows a lengthy courtship. The two companies first said they were in talks over the summer, with the Takeover Panel extending the deadline several times. Impellam chief executive Julia Robertson and chief financial officer Tim Bryant are set to remain with the group and join the HeadFirst board.

HeadFirst chairman Han Kolff said: “Together we will become a global leader in mission-critical data, technical and engineering talent allowing us to serve our customers, suppliers and professionals at an unrivaled level.”