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North-east business exit and other deals help investor BGF to a tidy profit

Ellon-based Aubin Group was among four full or partial exits for BGF during the first half of this year.
Ellon-based Aubin Group was among four full or partial exits for BGF during the first half of this year.

Full or partial exits from companies including Ellon-based Aubin Group during the first half of 2022 have netted a return of three and a half times the investment for BGF.

The banking industry-backed investor said it had also put nearly £25 million into growing businesses during the period.

BGF announced its exit from energy services company Aubin last month, with Italian firm Italmatch Chemicals swooping to buy the business for an undisclosed sum. Alongside BGF, the selling shareholders included Aubin founder Paddy Collins.

Four deals deliver £63m return

The Aubin deal and three other full or partial exits for BGF since the start of the year, following investment periods ranging from 18 months to nine years, have a combined enterprise value of more than £260m. They have returned a total of £63m to BGF on £18m committed, which represents a return of 3.5 times the aggregate sum invested.

The deals include full exits from CSN Care Group, Inoapps and Aubin, and a partial withdrawal from Calnex.

BGF investments this year include Inverness firm Mime Technologies, trading as Aiber, led by chief executive Anne Roberts.

BGF is a long-term patient investor, making initial investments between £1m and £15m for a minority equity stake.

Deals completed to-date in 2022 by its Scotland and Northern Ireland team come from a range of sectors, including life sciences, technology, manufacturing and healthcare.

They also have a broad geographical spread. Since the turn of the year, the team has completed a £1.6m investment in Inverness medical technology firm Aiber, while Glasgow-headquartered Scottish Dental Care received a multimillion-pound boost to implement its ambitious growth plans.

In the north-east, BGF led an £8m investment round into Aberdeen-based biopharmaceutical company Elasmogen to support its development pipeline of next-generation drugs.

The pipeline for the remainder of the year is strong, with more new deals and further positive exits anticipated.”

Patrick Graham, BGF’s head of Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “After a record 2021, where BGF’s Scotland and Northern Ireland team invested almost £60m, it is particularly pleasing to see this momentum continued through a diverse range of significant deals.

“As businesses adapt to higher inflation and the lingering aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, our ability to deploy capital at scale, and the overall strength of our investment model continues to attract the type of ambitious companies we seek to support.”

Patrick Graham, head of Scotland and Northern Ireland for BGF.

Mr Graham added: “As well as new investments, we also recorded four successful Scottish exits, which serve as a reminder of the important journey we go on with our portfolio companies as they scale. Each exit marked a mutually beneficial next step following positive work between BGF and the investee company.

“Looking ahead, the pipeline for the remainder of the year is strong, with more new deals and further positive exits anticipated.”

Record-breaker

Recently published annual results for BGF in the UK and Ireland revealed a record-breaking year for the business in 2021. As well as maintaining its position as the most active investor in UK and Irish growth economy companies, BGF backed 67 new businesses.

It invested a total of £600m, including £165m of follow-on funding to support further growth for portfolio companies, which is a key part of its longer term offer to entrepreneurs.

BGF exited investments in 39 businesses during 2021, delivering a total return of £571m – up from £233m in 2020.

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