“A million thanks to the team at Corbett Keeling for all your heroic efforts on our behalf … in the words of Harold Macmillan ‘No-one could have tried harder, no-one could have been more persuasive …’”

BORIS JOHNSON,
MP FOR HENLEY-ON-THAMES

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Corbett Keeling advised the owners of GB International on a phased exit. First, they introduced us and then they helped funds we manage and the original owners exit, handling a delicate ‘single buyer auction’ to an overseas purchaser with great skill. We are grateful both for the introduction to the investment and for the continuity they provided.”

PHIL CAMMERMAN, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, YFM PRIVATE EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

“John Herring has advised me on the pros and cons of a number of transactions. His assistance and advice are always timely and to the point, and it is a pleasure to work with him. His help on the acquisition of Edinburgh Woollen Mills was vital to the success of that transaction.”

PHILIP DAY, CHIEF EXECTUVIE OF EDINBURGH WOOLLEN MILLS, COMMENTING ON ITS PURCHASE FROM RUTLAND TRUST IN A SECONDARY BUY-OUT FUNDED BY BANK OF SCOTLAND INTEGRATED FINANCE

 

 

 

 

The Firm and The Team

Corbett Keeling was established in 1993 by Jim Keeling, who jointly owns and chairs the business with his brother Simon Keeling. Corbett Keeling is authorised and regulated under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by the Financial Services Authority for the purposes of carrying on investment business. It is an associate (advisory) member of the British Venture Capital Association and is qualified to advise on transactions governed by the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.

The advisory team comprises Corbett Keeling’s directors and associates. The latter are all experienced members of the financial advisory community and carry on regulated corporate finance activities with Corbett Keeling as well as having other relevant business interests, such as non-executive directorships. The members of the team are as follows:

  Simon Keeling, MBA, Joint Chairman of Corbett Keeling, graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Engineering and has an MBA from Cranfield School of Management. He has worked in investment banking for the last 20 years. Prior to joining Corbett Keeling in 1995, he was at Hambros and Barclays de Zoete Wedd where he worked mainly on financings and sales of businesses, including numerous transactions where funds raised or the value of assets sold were in the range up to £150 million.
  Jim Keeling, ACA, Joint Chairman of Corbett Keeling, graduated from Oxford University before qualifying as a chartered accountant with KPMG. He was a member of KPMG’s corporate finance division when it was first set up and spent four years there advising on buying, selling and arranging funding for UK private businesses. He founded Corbett Keeling in 1993. He has been involved in all of the transactions run by Corbett Keeling and has extensive knowledge of the private equity industry.
  Brenda Baker was office manager at Gresham Trust, the private equity house, from 1991 to 1999. During 1999, she worked as personal assistant to the company secretary of Rio Tinto plc before joining Corbett Keeling. She runs Corbett Keeling’s administration, research and marketing functions.
  Douglas Blausten, FRICS, graduated from Cambridge University. He owns 30% of Cyril Leonard (www.cyrilleonard.com), a surveying, real estate and asset management services firm that operates in the UK, North America and mainland Europe. Cyril Leonard has a wide variety of clients including Rolls Royce, Delancey Estates, Clerical Medical, Polo Ralph Lauren and Rentokil Initial. Douglas works with Corbett Keeling on assignments which require a combination of property expertise and corporate finance advice.
  John Herring is a qualified chartered accountant. He is a non-executive director of a number of companies, including JD Wetherspoon plc, the listed managed pub operator. He has worked in corporate finance for the last 20 years, having been a corporate finance director at Dresdener Kleinwort Benson where he had particular exposure to advising companies with market capitalisations up to ¬£150 million.
  Ian Langley graduated from Southampton University. He has held various senior management roles in mid-sized engineering companies where he has had responsibility for mergers and acquisitions activity, fund-raising, turnaround and operational growth. Since 2000 he has run his own consulting business and immediately prior to this was at the engineering group, Brunel Holdings plc. He focuses at Corbett Keeling on the engineering and industrial sectors.
  Dr Graham Maile gained his PhD from Cambridge University. He has worked at various technology and consulting businesses including Philips Telecommunications, PA Consulting and Generics Group. He is a director of Plextek (www.plextek.co.uk), one of the largest independent electronics design houses in Europe, where he has worked with a variety of venture capital organisations and investment banks evaluating technologies and companies prior to an investment being made. He works with Corbett Keeling on corporate finance transactions for technology businesses.
  James McGrigor graduated from Oxford University and has worked in consulting for the last 20 years, the first six of which were with Bain & Co. Since then, he has focused on both financial advisory and general consulting activities. James owns The McGrigor Corporation (www.mcgrigorcorp.com), a consulting firm providing general consultancy in the healthcare and financial services sectors. He works with Corbett Keeling on assignments in those sectors and involving provision of financial as opposed to general consulting advice.
  Simon Poole was Commercial Director at the financial services group TSB and Head of Strategic Development at the insurer ITT London & Edinburgh prior to becoming Head of Insurance at KPMG corporate finance where he worked until 2003. In 2002 he set up a business that complimented the corporate finance advice given to clients with sales and marketing opportunities – sdp solutions ltd (www.sdpsolutions.co.uk), which advises clients primarily in the financial services sector on how they can deliver increased revenues. He works with Corbett Keeling on assignments in that sector requiring corporate finance advice.
  Vincent Thompson, FCA, graduated from Cambridge University and qualified as a chartered accountant with Peat Marwick Mitchell. He has worked in corporate finance for the past 25 years, first with Morgan Grenfell and then with Hambros Bank where he remained following its acquisition in 1998 by Société Générale.  He has wide experience of public, private, cross-border and privatisation transactions, working for smaller and larger companies. He joined Corbett Keeling in January 2007 to work as a generalist and to focus on the transport and healthcare sectors.
  Douglas Young, CA, has worked in retail, wholesale and reinsurance broking and has chaired a number of IFA businesses; most recently he was acquisitions director and subsequently finance director of the highly acquisitive Towergate Underwriting Group. Douglas is a co-owner of JCL Hansen Young (www.jclgroup.co.uk), a search and selection consultancy group specialising in the insurance sector. He works with Corbett Keeling on assignments in that sector requiring corporate finance advice.