Advisers land £137m Ultra fees bonanza

BOSSES, bankers and other advisers will scoop more than £150m from the £2.6bn private equity takeover of Ultra Electronics.

Documents yesterday showed Advent International and the British defence group plan to pay around £137m in fees to big City firms including HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Slaughter and May to get the deal over the line.

US private equity giant Advent, which is buying Ultra through Cobham, will shoulder most of the costs, forking out an estimated £103m.

Around half of Advent’s bill – or £56m – will go to bankers, while £2m will go to public relations advisers.

Ultra chief executive Simon Pryce could bag almost £11m if all of his longterm share awards are paid out when the takeover completed. Finance head Jos Sclater is in line for nearly £4m. The deal is one of a string of takeovers that have hit UK plc since the pandemic. Firms such as the AA, Morrisons, inhaler maker Vectura and defence giant Meggitt have been targeted.

But Advent’s controversial swoop on Ultra has provoked uproar among military figures, politicians and analysts.

The company makes highly sensitive kit for the F-35 fighter jet (pictured).

There are fears that losing Ultra to a US firm could put Britain at a disadvantage as submarine warfare becomes more important. Advent has promised legally binding commitments with the Government to allay these worries.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has intervened in the takeover on national security grounds and ordered the Competition and Markets Authority to undertake a full investigation.

After he is presented with its report, he will have the finally say on allowing or blocking the deal.