Capital-based corporate finance business hails progress in 2018

An Edinburgh-based corporate finance boutique has grown its workforce and hailed a 'strong' 2018 to date, including its first acquisition and latest exit.

MD Stuart Mitchell said the firm has seen 'an exponential growth in [its] portfolio and pipeline of projects'. Picture: Stewart Attwood.

Quest, which was founded in 2007 and has a ten-strong team, flagged a “record” second quarter, including the purchase of Stockbridge Advisers, which it said lets it expand its services by acting as principal on transactional work. In June, portfolio company and telecom expense management specialist Veropath was bought by US-based Calero Software, marking “another high-profile” exit for the Quest team.

It comes after portfolio company Vermilion Software was in 2016 acquired by Nasdaq-listed FactSet Research Systems in what was billed as one of the largest fintech deals recorded in the UK. The same year, Quest advised on the Series-B financing round of Edinburgh-based PureLiFi, which uses light for wireless communication, led by Singapore sovereign fund Temasek.

Quest also said other highlights from the last 12 months include striking a partnership with a Chinese investment company to identify Europe-wide investments in tech, and advising on various indigenous deals in Scotland including Maven Capital, Downing LLP and Scottish Enterprise’s investment in compensation management software firm Curo Compensation.

Quest MD Stuart Mitchell said the firm’s investment in its team – with its most recent hires Colin Gray and Andrew Munro – has seen “double-digit fee income growth and an exponential growth in our portfolio and pipeline of projects”. The firm also said it was “satisfying” to complete another exit to a US acquirer in the second quarter. “We are engaging with corporates and the investment community more than ever before.”