Foresight Group (Foresight), an infrastructure and regional private equity investment manager listed on the London Stock Exchange, has sold Poppy & Jacks Limited (Poppy & Jacks), a children’s nursery chain in North West England.
Poppy & Jacks was sold to Kids Planet Day Nurseries Limited (Kids Planet), a national nursery chain, backed by BGF. Kids Planet will be an excellent partner, supporting the Company’s development and the continued provision of an outstanding home from home environment across all nurseries.
Since its original investment in March 2016, Foresight has taken a proactive approach to supporting the senior management team, introducing Chairperson Tracey Fletcher and growing the number of nurseries from four to ten across Nottinghamshire and the North West. Poppy & Jacks also more than doubled its workforce, from 90 to over 200, during the same period. Alongside this, Ofsted ratings improved significantly with all nurseries rated either Good or Outstanding. This is a real credit to management and the whole team.
This successful exit returns GBP5 million to Foresight funds, 2.5x its initial investment.
Poppy & Jacks is the fourth successful realisation by Foresight’s Private Equity team during 2021, including 3.1x return on Mologic, a point of care diagnostics and contract research company, a 4.3x return on FFX and a 5.6x return on Hedges Direct, both leading ecommerce businesses. Foresight has also completed 28 new investments over the last 12 months, cementing its position as one of the most active SME investors in the UK market.
Sarah Bellamy, CEO of Poppy & Jacks, says: “Over the last few years, Poppy & Jacks has successfully grown through acquisition with the support of Matthew, Tracey and the team at Foresight. They have helped professionalise the business, providing valuable insight from other portfolio companies and core SME knowledge. Without Foresight, Poppy & Jacks would have not been able to grow so quickly or find the perfect home for the Poppy & Jack’s portfolio.”
Matthew Pomroy, Director at Foresight, adds: “It’s been great to work with Sarah and the wider team at Poppy & Jacks, supporting the acquisition strategy and helping it become one of the highest quality nursery chains in the North West. We wish Kids Planet every success for the future with Poppy & Jacks as part of their business.”
Foresight and the other shareholders were advised by Mazars (corporate finance advice) and Napthens (legal counsel).
