Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has advised the shareholders of Seneca Trade Partners, the UK’s leading SME stock funder, on its sale to, newly launched private credit platform, iO Partners in a deal estimated to be worth £40 million.
The sale marks the exit of Seneca Partners, which provided backing to Seneca Trade Partners to help support the business in becoming the leading provider of trade finance to UK SMEs.
Founded in 2016, Seneca Trade Partners operates from Manchester with a team of just 12, led by directors Chris Divers, Chris Williams and Mark McGuire. The business has just short of 300 companies on its books with a maximum facility of £300k and a typical loan of around £100k.
iO Partners is a buy-and-build alternative financing platform led by experienced corporate banker, Mike Ellwood, former managing director for RBS Structured Finance and head of corporate and commercial banking at Santander.
Hill Dickinson corporate partner Jon Gillow led on the provision of legal advice to the shareholders of Seneca Trade Partners, assisted by Dan McDonagh and Natalie Gillott.
We’re delighted to have completed on this deal, which represents a positive outcome for all parties. We look forward to seeing the growth the new relationship between Seneca Trade Partners and iO Partners brings and wish them every success moving forward.Jon Gillow
Corporate Partner
Speaking about the deal, Jon Gillow said: “We’re delighted to have completed on this deal, which represents a positive outcome for all parties. We look forward to seeing the growth the new relationship between Seneca Trade Partners and iO Partners brings and wish them every success moving forward.”