Harwood Private Equity portfolio company CoventBridge Group Ltd has acquired the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services UPIC business for the Midwestern jurisdiction of the United States. The acquisition establishes the company as one of three Unified Program Integrity Contractors in the investigation of federal government healthcare fraud, waste and abuse.
Harwood Private Equity has acquired National Slimming and Cosmetic Clinics (NSC) with a management buy-in of the UK’s largest group of medicated weight-loss treatment centres. NSC has 26 clinics across the UK and will be led by chief executive officer Maurice Kelly, who has worked within the Harwood Private Equity portfolio before and has wide experience of multi-site businesses and the weight-loss sector.
Harwood Private Equity has achieved a full exit from its 2013 investment in Curtis Gilmour, a prominent US-based manufacturer of specialist pest-control equipment, and has invested into the new group created by its merger with Pelsis, a UK company and the leading European distributor of branded pest-control products. Harwood and another UK private equity investor are equity partners in the new enlarged group that will have a consolidated turnover of €125 million with significant potential for growth.
Harwood Private Equity has invested in Tradewise Group of Companies Limited, an Enfield-based, market-leading provider of road risk insurance to the UK motor trade sector (dealers and repairers), underwritten through a partner company in Gibraltar. Tradewise also offers cover within other niche commercial and non-standard vehicle insurance categories in the UK and certain European countries. James Humphreys is CEO and will continue to lead the company.
Harwood Private Equity has achieved an exit from its investment in Essenden plc through an initial public offering of the group’s shares on the London Stock Exchange, resulting in a successful outcome for investors. The business has been renamed Ten Entertainment Group plc. Ten Entertainment is a leading operator of indoor bowling and family entertainment centres in the UK, operating under the Tenpin brand. Harwood Private Equity acquired the company in 2015 and since then has backed further site acquisitions and organic operational initiatives driving significant sales and profit growth.
Harwood Private Equity has invested in Inspecs Limited, the Bath-based eyewear design, manufacturing and distribution business. The company produces spectacles for various brands, both under licence and private label. The investment enabled Inspecs to acquire the highly complementary Killine Group, which offers a wide range of optical products designed in Europe and produced in two proprietary factories in China and Vietnam. Robin Totterman is the founder and CEO of Inspecs and will continue the lead the company.
Harwood Private Equity has acquired Journey Group plc through a public-to-private transaction for £32 million. Journey Group is a provider of in-flight catering to the airline industry. It services Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Memphis International Airport (MEM) under the brand name Airfayre™. Joe Golio will continue to lead the company as CEO, and Bob Gates, founder of R&R Uniforms, Inc., has been appointed non-executive chairman.
Harwood Private Equity and Continental Investment Partners have jointly acquired Source BioScience plc through a public-to-private transaction for £65 million. The company provides laboratory services and products to the healthcare and clinical, life science research and biopharma industries. Services include diagnostic testing for cancer and other infectious disease, DNA sequencing and contract research activities, cryostorage and stability testing. Products include serology products for blood and tissue banking, life science research reagents and controlled environment chambers. Source BioScience operates ten facilities across the UK, Ireland, Germany and the US and has customers in over 90 countries. Dr Nick Ash is the CEO of Source BioScience and will continue the lead the company.