Finance and restructuring lawyers advise OakNorth Bank on sale of Primrose to Risk Capital Partners

14th January 2021

Specialist finance and restructuring lawyers at Walker Morris have advised OakNorth Bank on the sale of Primrose.co.uk, the UK’s largest online garden retailer, to Risk Capital Partners.  Primrose has a £40m turnover and has 20 million registered customers in the UK and Europe.

The deal was structured as a pre-pack administration of Primrose’s parent company, with FRP Advisory acting as administrators, and its operating subsidiary sold as a going concern.

The investment by Risk Capital Partners retained the existing management team and enabled all external bank debt to be repaid in full so that future investment can focus on growth.

Owen Ormond, a Director in the Finance and Restructuring Team at Walker Morris headed the team providing legal advice to OakNorth, with assistance from associate, Oliver Wheeler.

Commenting on the deal Owen Ormond said:

“OakNorth specialises in lending to small to medium enterprises and is one of the fastest growing challenger banks in the country. OakNorth’s support for management in the sale of Primrose to Risk Capital Partners shows that engagement and co-operation between management and its funders is vital in the survival and growth of any business.”