Leading law firm, BDB Pitmans, was instructed by Harwood Capital LLP (‘Harwood’) for a £7.75 million investment (by funds under Harwood’s management) into QCL Holdings Limited (‘QCL’), the holding company of Quickline Communications Limited (‘Quickline’), a prominent UK provider of fixed wireless broadband.
Harwood’s investment formed part of an overall £12 million equity and debt funding package for Quickline to accelerate growth – expanding the reach of its fixed wireless internet access to a target customer base of 30,000 over the next three years, as well as selective acquisitions. Funds managed by Harwood have committed to invest a total of £7.75 million, with £3.875 million of equity drawn down initially and a commitment to a further £3.875 in tranches over the next two years. This commitment is made alongside an additional £4 million facility provided by HSBC. Paul Howard – a non-executive director of Bigblu Broadband plc (Quickline’s parent company) – has committed to invest up to £0.25 million and has also become chairman of QCL.
Corporate and commercial partner Nick McCarthy, led the BDB Pitmans team, working closely alongside legal director Toby Richards-Carpenter and solicitor Caroline Carter within the corporate and commercial department. Employment partner Nicholas Le Riche and consultant Anthony Davis advised on employment and tax matters respectively. Shepherd and Wedderburn advised Quickline.
Andrew Smith, managing partner at BDB Pitmans, comments:
‘This is an exciting investment for the BDB Pitmans team to have advised Harwood on – which ultimately expands the reach of high-speed internet into rural and hard-to-reach areas in the UK. This was a complex deal in the TMT sector which drew on a breadth of the firm’s offering – from corporate and commercial to tax and employment.’
