MJ Hudson advised Preservation Capital Partners (Preservation Capital), a financial services-focused private equity firm, in connection with the establishment of a Guernsey-domiciled co-investment vehicle (the Co-Invest Vehicle) and the on-boarding of Preservation Capital as an appointed representative of MJ Hudson in short order. MJ Hudson advised on legal, fiduciary, and regulatory matters, from both London and Guernsey, maximising MJ Hudson’s cross-border, multi-service offering.
The Co-Invest Vehicle was formed for the sole purpose of acquiring a substantial stake in Ascent Underwriting LLP (Ascent), a leading cyber and specialty lines managing general agents (MGAs). Preservation Capital will provide significant growth capital to support Ascent’s growth ambitions through the development of new business lines and complementary products via the acquisition of emerging risk/specialist MGAs and through selective team hires.
The investment will assist Ascent to meet the strong growth in demand for cyber insurance cover globally and further develop Ascent’s proprietary OPTIO technology platform, while expanding its global distribution and in-house talent base.
The existing management team of Ascent will retain a significant shareholding in Ascent and will continue to manage the business in its next stage of growth.
Unigestion, the Swiss asset manager with over $25 billion of AUM, is the sole institutional co-investor in the transaction.
Jatender Aujla, a Partner of Preservation Capital, said: “I found the MJ Hudson team to be very knowledgeable and commercial. I would highly recommend them. They provided me with invaluable guidance around the legal and co-investment structuring and regulatory framework and have a very interesting one stop shop model which worked seamlessly in helping set up Preservation Capital Partners and the Co-Invest Vehicle.”
Eamon Devlin, Managing Partner of MJ Hudson, said: “Spin-outs of managers from established asset managers is an important development in the cycle of private equity. Preservation Capital is a good example of the next generation of GPs entering the private equity market. Best wishes to Jatender and team.”
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
The MJ Hudson London legal team was led by Andrew Mills (Partner), supported by Whitney Lutgen (Senior Associate), Peter Mallon (Associate), Alex Scordino (Trainee Solicitor) and Eamon Devlin (Managing Partner). Chris Dearie (Partner) provided regulatory advice.
The MJ Hudson London fund management team was led by Bobby Console-Verma (Managing Director), supported by Graham Voke (Head of Compliance and AR Operations), Karina Shevchenko (Business Development) and Hector Judd (Junior AR Specialist).
The MJ Hudson Guernsey team was led by Mark Pattimore (Managing Director of Fiduciary) and Matthew Wrigley (Partner), supported by Rabie Abas (Senior Associate) and Danny Felbabel (Assistant Manager).