Supporting Paragon’s growth

Bringing together experts in banking, corporate deals and finance from our Cheltenham office meant that a £276m deal for Paragon Banking Group’s went smoothly with our support – we have been their trusted advisor since 2015.

The deal, which saw Paragon acquiring development finance provider Titlestone Property Finance and its loan book, was challenging because it was complex, had to be done in a short time and involved several different firms. Rachael Reeves who worked on the deal with head of office Rich Wilkey and partner Tim Littler, said: “We had six weeks – that included an auction process, the complication that Titlestone’s owners were based in Luxembourg and a multitude of different law firms involved with the seller, management and incumbent finance providers. We also had to coordinate advice on competition law from barristers and from Scottish and Luxembourgeois lawyers.

“Every deal involves extensive checks and a great deal of research – this was a major undertaking in this case, and our banking team, headed up by Harry Bengough absolutely came into their own. Experience in mortgage book sales and purchases from Tim Littler was invaluable – crucially, as far as Titlestone’s customers – developers, landowners or homeowners – were concerned, it was business as usual.”

Rich Wilkey added: “For Paragon, it was a significant deal in terms of their growth and development; they have been a client since 2015, when we acted for them on their £117m Five Arrows Leasing Group acquisition.”

Richard Woodman, the group’s CFO, said: “The UK development finance market represents an excellent longterm opportunity and Titlestone will enable us to accelerate
our growth in this area. We appreciate the sophistication, expertise and professionalism of HCR, who worked seamlessly with our team to deliver this important transaction for the Group.”

Our advice to businesses is tailored to each client’s needs – we draw in specialist expertise from across the firm to create a team which can address not only their specific needs but also advise on wider issues to help clients avoid potential problems.