BGF has led on deals with a total enterprise value (EV) of £450 million in the North West in six months.
In the same period, BGF’s North West team has delivered a stand-out run of exits which has seen £150 million of capital returned from £72 million invested. Highlights include: the sale of Liverpool-based Sentric to Swiss music fintech company, Utopia Music; PTSG’s acquisition of NSS; and CurrentBody’s sale to eComplete.
This is in addition to the exit of Kids Planet, having accelerated the nursery group’s rollout from 17 to more than 80 sites during its investment period. BGF also retained minority stakes in Kids Planet and Utopia Music as it continues as a long-term partner to both companies.
BGF completed a total £42 million of investment in growing businesses based in the North West in six months. These entrepreneur-led companies span several sectors including tech, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare and training, and are based across all corners of the region.
The North West team backed apprenticeship training provider, Apprentify, with a £5 million investment to execute an ambitious buy and build strategy in the apprenticeship and adult education market. Wigan-headquartered manufacturer, Evolution Aqua, received a £12 million BGF investment to capitalise on growth opportunities in core markets and drive international expansion. Alongside Gresham House Ventures, BGF also announced a £10 million investment into Panthera Biosciences to further grow its network of dedicated clinical trial sites across the UK and Western Europe.
The combined EV across these investments and exits at the time of completion reached £450 million.
