Arqaam Capital announces successful sale of its stake in Chesterton Global Limited

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

UK’s oldest and renowned real estate brokerage business restores its former reputation and achieves revenue in excess of $50 million after partnership with a consortium led by Arqaam Capital

Continuing its tradition of executing successful transactions of high-profile assets in its portfolio, Arqaam Capital, formerly known as CiC International, has successfully sold its stake in Chesterton, one of the UK’s oldest and renowned real estate businesses.

In March 2005, Chesterton went into receivership and Arqaam Capital led a consortium of investors that purchased the exclusive rights to the Chesterton brand as well as 100% of the residential assets, through the acquisition vehicle, Chesterton Global Limited.

Since acquisition, Arqaam Capital embarked on a restructuring process that quickly resulted in a significant transformation of the operating and financial performance of the company. Revenue increased more than 100% and the business is now trading very profitably. This was achieved by focusing on the core strengths of Chesterton’s operations and investing in the company’s people and infrastructure. Within the first year of ownership a new management team was hired, significant investment was made across the business and non-core assets were disposed of.

“Obviously, our primary focus is to build partnerships that deliver excellent returns for our investors, but it’s also very satisfying to know we’ve helped turn-around a two-hundred year old brand like Chesterton. We consider this mission as being accomplished, and now look forward to delivering similar success with other opportunities we have in Europe which are currently in the pipeline.” said Dennis Wijsmuller, Chief Operating Officer at Arqaam Capital.”

In addition to enhancing profitability, the strategy adopted by the consortium led by Arqaam Capital has now brought about the expansion of Chesterton’s network by acquiring real estate agencies in London and Kent, as well as establishing the first overseas franchised office in southern France. Chesterton is also considering entering the Middle East markets in the near future.

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