Batty and Fox, who established the Leeds-based business in 2011, have acquired the shareholding of corporate shareholder CSG to now own 100% of the company.

CSG, an international staffing and executive search business supported the establishment of Clear Edge initially by providing the co-founders with capital investment, along with training, IT, accountancy, finance and back-office services.

Since then, the business has built its presence in the consumer goods and digital sectors placing candidates in roles from middle management to board level. Clear Edge has developed particular market expertise in the food, drinks, consumer durables and health, beauty & household product sectors.
 
The business has also expanded into the sports betting and iGaming sectors and has established a dedicated division, Clear Edge Betting & Gaming, to service these fast-growing markets.

“As a result, Clear Edge has grown significantly and has been able to build in-house accountancy, finance and compliance capabilities, facilitating the opportunity for the MBO,” a company statement said.

Secured with funding provided by HSBC, the MBO provides Batty and Fox with autonomous ownership of Clear Edge. They will now implement the next stage of their scale-up strategy to increase Clear Edge’s share in its key markets.

Corporate finance advice for the founding shareholders was provided by Newcastle-based RG Corporate Finance (RGCF), led-by Carl Swansbury, partner and head of corporate finance, and corporate finance assistant Ben Kain.

Tax advice was provided by RG Business Tax Director Liz Rothery with legal advice from Gordons. Legal advice for CSG was provided by Shoosmiths.