NBGI Private Equity (NBGIPE), a private equity investor focused on the UK lower mid-market, is increasing its focus around three core sectors: support services, healthcare and food manufacturing.
As part of this initiative, the firm has appointed Sandy Young (pictured), an experienced leader in the business services field, as the first member of a panel of senior industry advisers across the three sectors.
NBGIPE, which typically invests in UK businesses of between GBP5m and GBP50m in enterprise value, has historically taken a generalist approach to investment. Today’s announcement recognises that the firm has already built a strong track record and network of contacts in these three sectors – support services, healthcare and food manufacturing – and intends to build on this success.
NBGIPE intends to appoint senior advisers in each of these sectors, providing high-level strategic advice and in-depth industry knowledge. They will bring support across all investment activities from origination through to completion, covering strategic direction and advice on build-ups and as companies move towards exit. They will advise the investment team but not formally join the Boards of individual investee companies.
Young has had extensive experience in senior executive roles. Most recently he was chief executive of Allied Healthcare International, a Nasdaq-listed provider of health and social care in the UK. During his three-year tenure, he repositioned the company into larger and profitable sectors, oversaw a number of acquisitions, and was instrumental in selling the business to SAGA Group at a 59 per cent premium over its market cap.
Mark Owen, founder director at NBGIPE, says: “Our skill set and expertise mean that support services, healthcare and food manufacturing are the areas in which we have a strong competitive advantage and are able to deliver consistent, high-quality results. Our track record in these sectors clearly demonstrates this, and with a new, formalised structure and the addition of senior advisers we are now ideally placed to exploit the many opportunities we are seeing. We are excited to be welcoming Sandy to the team and look forward to working with him.”
Young says: “I am delighted to be contributing my expertise and experience gained in over 30 years in the support services industry to NBGIPE, and look forward to working with the team. The opportunities in this sector in the UK, driven by outsourcing, innovation and globalisation, are enormous and I have great confidence in our ability to deliver results.”
