IFF Research is an award winning, full service social and public market research and insights agency, who conduct many large high profile research projects for UK government bodies. Founded in 1965 as the first B2B research agency in the UK, it now employs 150 research experts, providing a comprehensive set of solutions to the public sector.

Connection Capital LLP is a UK growth-focussed private equity and private debt firm that specialises in private client alternative investments. The investment from Connection Capital has supported a transition for one shareholder and will provide the basis for IFF’s growth plan.

The Lewis Silkin team was led by corporate partner, Sam Pennington, with support from corporate lawyers Elizabeth Cotton and Cristiana Barone and employment partner Richard Moore.

Commenting on the deal, Lewis Silkin’s Sam Pennington said:

“We are delighted to have supported the long-established and much respected IFF Research through this combination debt equity investment from Connection Capital LLP. This deal is a foundation for IFF Research’s continued growth, and we look forward to supporting the company all the way”

IFF Research CFO, Jan Shury:

“This transaction is strategically very important to our business and we took a great deal of care to choose the right legal advisors to support us through the process. The partner-led Lewis Silkin team were short-listed initially as a result of a recommendation and for their unrivalled sector knowledge and experience of this type of investment but above this they were people we knew immediately we could work with and trust. Throughout the transaction itself Sam expertly guided us through complex and unchartered territory in a way which simultaneously gave us a full understanding of the micro and macro elements of the transaction, as well as keeping us at ease with the comfort of having the right people on our team. In addition to this, to a person Sam’s team are a delight to work with on an interpersonal level, which is critical when delivering a complex transaction to a tight timescale”