PC Hansen renamed Sapient Corporate Finance
PC Hansen & Co, the corporate finance adviser best known for its work in the pubs, bars and restaurant sectors, has renamed itself Sapient Corporate Finance.
The group, which since 2003 has worked on transactions worth a total of £5.9bn, said that the new name reflected its growing size, and a wider focus across the leisure industry.
Peter Hansen (pictured), founder and partner, said that some people still perceived the company as one that was purely focused on "big pub deals", whereas in reality it worked pan-leisure and advised on a range of corporate activity, including fund raisings, restructurings and refinancings.
The new name would help reinforce the wider range of skill sets present within the business, said Hansen.
He said: "We're not a one-person company; we are a partnership, so we wanted to reflect that in our identity."
The founder established the business in 1997 after working in corporate finance at NatWest and at consulting firms Bain & Co and LEK.
Fraser Anderson, partner, joined the business in 2004 from Deutsche Bank.
Hansen and Anderson met when they worked together on the disposal of S&N Retail to Spirit and the Punch Taverns acquisition of Pubmaster.
Sapient has worked on a string of transactions in recent years, including eight deals with Admiral Taverns and eight deals with Punch.
Recently it advised Geronimo Inns on its refinancing with Penta Capital and the shareholders of New Century Inns on its sale to Greene King.
Sapient is from the Latin meaning for wise and insightful, which Hansen said reflected the fact that it was a company of senior individuals.
He said: "We have no inexperienced associates to hand the work to - everyone here has at least eight years of corporate finance experience."
The company's new website address is www.sapientcf.com.
