Take Me acquires subsidiaries’ shares following collapse of investor MBH

Take Me Group has acquired shares previously held by MBH Corporation PLC for its operations in Farnborough, Leicester, and Stoke-on-Trent, after MBH Corporation entered receivership in February.

MBH was an early backer of Take Me, which grew out of the ADT Taxis business in Leicestershire run by David Hunter and Ashley Butcher. ADT funded some of the early moves as Take Me began the process of building a national private hire brand.

MBH initially invested £3.4 million in Take Me Group in August 2020, followed by a deal in November to buy Farnborough-based Victoria Gosden Travel Limited (VGT) for a price reported at the time to be “between £1.3m and £2m”.A third MBH-backed deal in early 2021 saw Stoke-on-Trent-based Intercity Taxis join the Take Me roster for between £3m and £4m.

It is not known how much Take Me has paid to reclaim these shares, but it is likely to be substantially lower than the original investment.

Founded in 2016, MBH Corporation was a fast-growing investment business. Speaking in 2020, MBH CEO Callum Laing said MBH had made 14 acquisitions in a number of industry sectors and markets in the previous two years. The company operated in fields as diverse as construction, education and leisure, and has made acquisitions as far afield as New Zealand and Singapore.

Laing said the MBH typically targeted SME businesses that were “owner-operated and were ‘not for sale’ where the founders wanted money to grow but did not want to exit the business. “There is no shortage of good, well-run businesses out there,” he said. The taxi sector was of interest because the sector was “very fragmented” and there was an opportunity to consolidate.

However, MBH struggled with cash-flow. The company was restructured last December, with Laing leaving the company and a number of companies sold. This did not address the problem, and the company entered administration in February. Since then more businesses have been sold, and the business is being wound up. David Hunter joined the board in March in order to oversee the disposals.

Hunter, CEO of Take Me Group, said: “This marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to consolidate Take Me’s presence across the country. Bringing these sites under our ownership not only enhances our operational efficiency but also underscores our commitment to delivering exceptional services.”