The Background
Established in 2003, in less than two decades Source BMX has become the world’s biggest BMX store. It grew without outside investment, but was now facing new challenges if it wanted to expand further. In the words of the co-founder, Richard Moore: “We still have huge ambitions. But we were running out of steam. We needed to de-risk our investment and we needed a war chest.”
Why choose LAVA Advisory?
Richard had known Simon Woodcock, founder and partner for five years before engaging LAVA. “We met because he had read about the success of Source BMX in the Telegraph, and on the back of just that newspaper article took the train down to Hastings to find out more. The fact he made that effort created a good impression on us. From that initial meeting we just kept in touch with a view to one day working together.”
The Approach
After an initial chat, Richard emailed the LAVA team with some business figures. On the back of this, Simon and Hamish [Martin, founder] developed a number of scenarios. This was done quickly but with extreme attention-to-detail. Richard and his brother and business partner, Marc, along with the LAVA team, then assessed their long-term suitability.
The Result
LAVA Advisory suggested a best-case financial result: after negotiations, this was achieved in its entirety. Furthermore, as a measure of their belief in the business, LAVA themselves took a one percent equity stake in Source BMX. This is a sure sign that, in Simon Woodcock’s words, “We have skin in the game. It really matters to us that we get our clients the best result. But above that, we want on-going relationships with our clients. By having a stake in Source BMX, we have shown our belief in what they do and how they could grow.”
How does the client regard LAVA?
“Working with LAVA Advisory Partners was hugely enjoyable, from the moment we first spoke to getting a finished deal only three months later. They were one step ahead of us at every point, explaining the process and exactly what was needed from us. Their professionalism, negotiation skills and honesty definitely ensured we got the deal we wanted — and the best one for Source BMX.”
