Mayfair targets more Irish deals after hat-trick of investments

LONDON-BASED private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners (MEP) says it is actively targeting further Irish investments, after completing three deals in less than a week.

Yesterday, the firm announced two deals, after backing a €20m acquisition of Irish Welcome Tours only last week.

“Yes, expect more deals,” Mayfair managing partner Daniel Sasaki told the Irish

Independent. He said the firm was “spending a lot of time in Ireland and on Ireland”.

Mayfair yesterday confirmed that it had acquired a majority stake in Donegal-based Promise Gluten Free, a speciality baker established in 2011 that is already exporting to multiple markets.

The business was co-founded by Declan Gallagher, whose family has been involved in the bakery business for decades, along with Ciarán Lally and Tom Doyle.

It sells in Ireland, the UK, US and Australia under its retail brands ‘Promise Gluten Free’ and ‘PureBred Gluten Free’, and is stocked by retailers including Costco, M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ShopRite, Sobeys, SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Spar and Woolworths.

“Mayfair’s backing will provide us with the ability to in- crease capacity in new and existing markets, including supporting the growth of our facility,” Declan Gallagher said.

“We look forward to benefiting from their sector expertise and insight as we enter this exciting new chapter of growth,” he added.

Separately, Mayfair has invested growth capital in Irish entrepreneur Dylan Collins’s SuperAwesome, a technology business that provides compliance-driven technology to digital media brands aimed at under 13s – a highly sensitive segment of the online market where privacy and safety issues are critical to operators.

Mayfair said its investment will facilitate SuperAwesome’s growth, including the entry into new markets and product development.

The investments come less than a week after Mayfair’s Hotels & More travel business agreed a merger deal with Irish Welcome Tours, understood to be valued at around €20m.

The London-based firm’s other investments include the Yo- Sushi chain, bought in an £80m (€90m) deal in 2015. Mayfair Equity Partners was launched two years ago by Daniel Sasaki and three colleagues who had previously worked together at Lloyds’ private equity arm, LDC.

The firm is about halfway through investing its first £400m fund, Daniel Sasaki said.

Neither the Promise Gluten free or SuperAwesome deals is backed by debt, in common with about half of Mayfair’s investment, he said.

He characterised the firm’s approach as “shopping for teams to back rather than shopping for assets”.

Mayfair is targeting mid-market investments in only the technology and consumer sectors, he said.

Outlining what he said was a perception in Ireland that private equity firms are not always good partners, he said Irish entrepreneurs typically have two big concerns: “Are you putting too much debt on my business, and are you really going to be a good partner or try to grab the steering wheel?”

Mayfair won’t do either, he said, but looks to work with existing management to accelerate growth.

The firm is also engaged with corporate finance firms here, and was introduced to SuperAwesome CEO Dylan Collins by Investec Ireland, Mr Sasaki said.

‘Mayfair’s backing will provide us with the ability to increase capacity’