BGF continues to power the Yorkshire and North East growth economy

BGF, one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, has committed £40m to Yorkshire and North East businesses in 2022 and delivered strong realisations from its exits.

Deals in the last 12 months, include a £19m investment in leading bar operator, Arc Inspirations. The long-term, minority investment was provided to support the continued roll-out of Arc’s three concepts Banyan, Box & Manahatta. Most recently, BGF completed a £13.75m investment in Leeds-headquartered audio visual (AV) and event technology specialist, Blue-i Group.

In 2022, BGF successfully exited 365 Response, a SaaS-based provider of transport services across the NHS and local authorities, and Coppergreen Leisure Resorts, a luxury, family-run holiday park business.

The latter deal completed in 2022, following a total of £21m invested into the Sheffield-headquartered holiday business, which was acquired by Away Resorts, backed by CVC Capital Partners Fund VIII. Both of these exits delivered a combined money multiple of 2.4x on BGF’s original investment.

Nationally, BGF invested a total of £443m in 2022, continuing its commitment to providing patient minority-only capital to help ambitious growth companies achieve their full potential. BGF exited 40 companies across the UK, with an accumulative value of over £675m and a combined money multiple of 2x.

Barry Jackson, head of BGF in Yorkshire and the North East, said: “2022 has shown the potential and opportunity that exists in the region, across a diverse range of sectors, including healthcare, technology, and retail.

“Looking ahead, our aim in the coming 12 months is to build strong relationships with fast-growth and entrepreneurial-led businesses looking for long-term, minority investments, such as Springfield Healthcare Group which we’ve now supported for a decade and has to date received £31m from BGF.”

The last 12 months also saw BGF provide follow-on funding for its existing portfolio including £5m to support Operam Education Group, one of the leading education recruitment agencies in the North of England, in its buy-and-build growth strategy.

Jackson added: “As with any challenging economy, strong, well-capitalised businesses in resilient sectors will find opportunities to seize market share, particularly from less nimble, over leveraged rivals. The success of our portfolio in 2022 is testament to this strength and agility.”

“By adopting a minority, non-controlling equity partner approach, one with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams we back, BGF can support high quality businesses that have the appetite to scale. “

Since inception in 2011, BGF has provided £3bn to more than 500 companies across every corner of the UK and Ireland. BGF has a strong pipeline of opportunities going into 2023, as it continues to fund promising and diverse businesses with capital throughout the economic cycle.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily