Related News

Trio jailed for plotting to murder cage fighter who took part in UK’s biggest-ever cash robbery

Trio jailed for plotting to murder cage fighter who took part in UK’s biggest-ever cash robbery

April 25, 2025
US tariffs against Mexico and Canada paused, but those on China still to go ahead

US tariffs against Mexico and Canada paused, but those on China still to go ahead

February 4, 2025
Alleged leader of cultlike ‘Zizians’ arrested in US as group linked to killings

Alleged leader of cultlike ‘Zizians’ arrested in US as group linked to killings

February 18, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World

Related News

Trio jailed for plotting to murder cage fighter who took part in UK’s biggest-ever cash robbery

Trio jailed for plotting to murder cage fighter who took part in UK’s biggest-ever cash robbery

April 25, 2025
US tariffs against Mexico and Canada paused, but those on China still to go ahead

US tariffs against Mexico and Canada paused, but those on China still to go ahead

February 4, 2025
Alleged leader of cultlike ‘Zizians’ arrested in US as group linked to killings

Alleged leader of cultlike ‘Zizians’ arrested in US as group linked to killings

February 18, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World
IIHS NEWS - AI Curated content
  • Home
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • US News
  • World
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Health Care
  • Crypto
No Result
View All Result
CONTRIBUTE
IIHS NEWS - AI Curated content
  • Home
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • US News
  • World
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Health Care
  • Crypto
No Result
View All Result
IIHS NEWS - AI Curated content
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

AA owners line up banks to steer path towards £4.5bn exit

Sarah Taylor by Sarah Taylor
May 24, 2025
in Business
0
AA owners line up banks to steer path towards £4.5bn exit
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The owners of the AA, Britain’s biggest breakdown recovery service, are lining up bankers to steer a path towards a sale or stock market listing next year which could value the company at well over £4bn.

You might also like

Owner of Cote restaurant chain cooks up sale plan

UK economy remains fragile – and there are risks and traps lurking around the corner

UK economy unexpectedly shrinks for second month in a row

Sky News has learnt that JP Morgan and Rothschild are in pole position to be appointed to conduct a review of the AA’s strategic options following a recovery in its financial and operating performance.

The AA, which has more than 16 million customers, including 3.3 million individual members, is jointly owned by three private equity firms: Towerbrook Capital Partners, Warburg Pincus and Stonepeak.

Insiders said this weekend that any form of corporate transaction involving the AA was not imminent or likely to take place for at least 12 months.

They added that there was no fixed timetable and that a deal might not take place until after 2026.

Nevertheless, the impending appointment of advisers underlines the renewed confidence its shareholders now have in its prospects, with the business having recorded four consecutive years of customer, revenue and earnings growth.

A strategic review of the AA’s options is likely to encompass an outright sale, listing on the public markets or the disposal of a further minority stake.

US-EU trade war fears reignite as Europe strikes back at Trump’s threat

Weekend Money: Is 50/50 enough? The ‘ludicrous’ divorce settlements leaving many women ‘devastated’

British taxpayers’ £10.2bn loss on bailout of RBS

Stonepeak invested £450m into the company in a combination of common and preferred equity, in a transaction which completed in July last year.

That deal was undertaken at an enterprise valuation – comprising the AA’s equity and debt – of approximately £4bn, the shareholders said at the time.

Given the company’s growth and the valuation at which Stonepeak invested, any future transaction would be unlikely to take place with a price of less than £4.5bn, according to bankers.

The AA, which has a large insurance division as well as its roadside recovery operations, remains weighed down by a substantial – albeit declining – debt burden.

Its most recent set of financial results disclosed that it had £1.9bn of net debt, which it is gradually paying down as profitability improves.

AA owners over the years

The company has been through a succession of owners during the last 25 years.

In 1999, it was bought by Centrica, the owner of British Gas, for £1.1bn.

It was then sold five years later to CVC Capital Partners and Permira, two buyout firms, for £1.75bn, and sat under the corporate umbrella Acromas alongside Saga for a decade.

The AA listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2014, but its shares endured a miserable run, being taken private nearly seven years later at little more than 15% of its value on flotation.

Under the ownership of Towerbrook and Warburg Pincus, the company embarked on a long-term transformation plan, recruiting a new leadership team in the form of chairman Rick Haythornthwaite – who also chairs NatWest Group – and chief executive Jakob Pfaudler.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

For many years, the AA styled itself as “Britain’s fourth emergency service”, competing with fierce rival the RAC for market share in the breakdown recovery sector.

Founded in 1905 by a quartet of driving enthusiasts, the AA passed 100,000 members in 1934, before reaching the one million mark in 1950.

Last year, it attended 3.5 million breakdowns on Britain’s roads, with 2,700 patrols wearing its uniform.

The company also operates the largest driving school business in the UK under the AA and BSM brands.

In the past, it has explored a sale of its insurance arm, which also has millions of customers, at various points but is not actively doing so now.

By recruiting a third major shareholder last, the AA mirrored a deal struck in 2021 by the RAC.

The RAC’s then owners – CVC Capital Partners and the Singaporean state fund GIC – brought the technology-focused private equity firm, Silver Lake, in as another major investor.

A spokesman for the AA declined to comment on Saturday.

Read Entire Article
Tags: BusinessSkynews
Share30Tweet19
Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor

Recommended For You

Owner of Cote restaurant chain cooks up sale plan

by Sarah Taylor
July 11, 2025
0
Owner of Cote restaurant chain cooks up sale plan

The private equity firm which took control of Cote, the French restaurant chain, at the height of the pandemic is kicking off an auction of the business

Read more

UK economy remains fragile – and there are risks and traps lurking around the corner

by Sarah Taylor
July 11, 2025
0
UK economy remains fragile – and there are risks and traps lurking around the corner

Monthly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures are volatile and, on their own, don't tell us much.

Read more

UK economy unexpectedly shrinks for second month in a row

by Sarah Taylor
July 11, 2025
0
UK economy unexpectedly shrinks for second month in a row

The UK economy unexpectedly shrank in May, even after the worst of Donald Trump's tariffs were paused, official figures showed.

Read more

Handbag sells for £7.4m at auction

by Sarah Taylor
July 10, 2025
0
Handbag sells for £7.4m at auction

A handbag has sold for €8.6m (£7.4m) - becoming the most valuable ever sold at auction.

Read more

All3Media owner RedBird IMI among suitors for Coulthard-owned TV firm

by Sarah Taylor
July 10, 2025
0
All3Media owner RedBird IMI among suitors for Coulthard-owned TV firm

The owner of the television producer behind Squid Game: The Challenge and Call The Midwife is among the suitors circling Whisper Group, the firm founded by broadcaster Jake...

Read more
Next Post
Three boys and a woman die in house fire – man arrested at scene

Three boys and a woman die in house fire - man arrested at scene

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related News

Trio jailed for plotting to murder cage fighter who took part in UK’s biggest-ever cash robbery

Trio jailed for plotting to murder cage fighter who took part in UK’s biggest-ever cash robbery

April 25, 2025
US tariffs against Mexico and Canada paused, but those on China still to go ahead

US tariffs against Mexico and Canada paused, but those on China still to go ahead

February 4, 2025
Alleged leader of cultlike ‘Zizians’ arrested in US as group linked to killings

Alleged leader of cultlike ‘Zizians’ arrested in US as group linked to killings

February 18, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World
IIHS NEWS – AI Curated content

IIHS.NEWS will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.

CATEGORIES

  • Blockchain
  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Crypto Market
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entertainment
  • Health Care
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • UK News
  • US News
  • World

BROWSE BY TAG

Blockchain Breaking News Business Entertainment Health Care Insidebitcoins newsbtc Politico Skynews Techcrunch Technology UK US USMagazine Variety World

© 2025 iihs.news - all rights reserved. YYC TECH CONSULTING.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • US News
  • World
  • Technology
  • Politics
  • Health Care
  • Crypto

© 2025 iihs.news - all rights reserved. YYC TECH CONSULTING.