CIL advises on UK healthcare sector deals
CIL has completed seven engagements in the UK healthcare sector, or involving UK investors. The firm provided buy-side commercial due diligence to multiple investors looking to tap into the booming UK health services market.
Almost $3 trillion of funds have been invested in mergers and acquisitions activity since the beginning of the year, according to recent research. The record total value is projected as just the start of a boom in M&A, and the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector is expected to be a major part of that.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, demand for health and care services providers has sparked – stimulating a scramble for mid-market firms with the potential to yield high returns in the near future. Alongside technology firms, in fact, this is the area where most mid-market M&A opportunities are perceived.
As the hunt for health sector deals continues to pick up pace, the demand for consultants to carry out due diligence on prospective purchases is also spiralling. As a result, CIL Management Consultants has assisted with investments in seven UK healthcare sector firms over the course of 2021.
Most recently, CIL provided commercial due diligence to support Global Healthcare Opportunities (GHO) Capital with its acquisition of Genesis Research. GHO is a leading specialist healthcare investment advisor based in London, while founded in New Jersey, US, Genesis Research is a provider of tech-enabled Real-World Evidence and Health Economics and Outcomes Research services. Other support for the deal came from Ropes & Gray acting as legal advisor to GHO, Alvarez and Marsal as financial advisor, Deloitte as tax advisor and CRS as insurance advisor.
CIL also provided Commercial due diligence to support Mubadala Capital on its acquisition of Witherslack Group. Based in Cumbria, Witherslack is among the UK’s biggest providers of special needs education schools and children’s care homes, and with the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund taking a majority stake, it is set to expand in the Middle East. The deal for Witherslack reportedly valued the business at £590 million.
Elsewhere, Meet is a global talent acquisition partner to some of the world’s most exciting life sciences businesses. CIL supplied vendor commercial due diligence to support Meet Recruitment on its management buyout, backed by NorthEdge Capital. The business employs 160 people across its offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Berlin, and has grown revenues at a CAGR of 28% over the last three years. As part of its continued expansion, Meet is forecasting to hire over 200 additional people in the next few years.
In late summer, Bridges Fund Management (Bridges), a specialist sustainable and impact investor, completed the sale of The Vet, a UK-based affordable veterinary services provider, to CVS Group, one of the UK's leading providers of integrated veterinary services. CIL provided vendor commercial due diligence to support The Vet, a Bridges Fund Management portfolio company, on its sale to CVS Group. The Vet operates eight large clinics across the UK, offering a comprehensive range of pet health services – something in growing demand, as pet ownership has risen sharply since the start of the pandemic – with more than 3.2 million households in the UK acquiring new pets.
Around the same time, CIL supplied commercial due diligence to support OPEN Health on its acquisition of Spirit. North West UK–based medical communications agency Spirit is a medical communications agency, and its acquisition means that OPEN Health now consists of around 850 people in 15 locations across six different countries, namely the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, India, and China.
Finally, earlier in the year CIL provided commercial due diligence to support Agilitas Private Equity, with its acquisition of Frontier Medical Group. Frontier has 85 employees and operates internationally via its headquarters and manufacturing facility in South Wales, as well as offices in Berlin and Buffalo, NY. It has direct sales teams in the UK, Germany and the US, and benefits from a network of distributors across 18 countries.
CIL is an international management consultancy with offices in the US and Europe. Founded in 1986, the firm specialises in strategy consulting, assessing and building business plans, identifying market opportunities and due diligence. Earlier in 2021, the firm announced it had provided due diligence to a number of key deals in the media sector, before advising on three further investments in the business services sector, assisting with deals relating to three law firms.
