Foresight exits lab specialist Onfab, but retains Envair with eye on future sale
Private equity investor Foresight has sold its stake in Cheshire-based specialist medical equipment manufacturer Onfab, to a US life sciences business, Savillex.
The exit from Onfab has yielded Foresight more than three times its money back on the investment it first made in 2017. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the amount paid was “around £27m” according to a source familiar with the deal.
Onfab makes high potent enclosures which are used in biopharmaceutical drug manufacture, which enable drugs to be made safely and consistently. It enjoys a recurring revenue from additional components, such as surgical gloves, once the first unit is purchased.
The initial investment, which was made in 2017, enabled its founder Oliver Nulty to exit the business, with Foresight investing a total of £9m over the period.
According to group accounts filed at Companies House, the group business as a whole made pre-tax profits of £1.7m on turnover of £15.3m in the year to December 2022, though with private equity backed businesses the accounts rarely show the full picture or reveal expenses specific to their structure.
However, the deal will involve the break up of the group as it currently stands as it doesn’t include the sale of Lancashire-based Envair Technology which Onfab acquired following a £4m growth capital investment by Foresight in 2018. The business will be sold separately, but will remain as part of the Foresight portfolio. The businesses had been run as part of one group and accounts were filed as one entity.
With Foresight’s backing Envair also acquired Total Containment Solutions in September 2021, but the 2022 accounts had to be restated due to “costs associated with onerous contracts taken on following the acquisition”.
The purchaser of Onfab, Savillex, a Minnesota-based medical equipment manufacturer is owned by Thomson Street Capital Partners of Missouri, only wanted to acquire the flexible containment business.
Foresight introduced Andrew Dixey, an experienced chairman, to the business, then Peter Williamson. Foresight also appointed Mark Arnold as managing director in 2018. Last year it hired Jonathan Critchley to Envair Technology from NRG Fleet Services, a private equity backed fleet group where he was finance director. Chris Wardle from Foresight also sat on the board.
Foresight claims it invested in new products and drove “improved governance and sustainability practices, creating a significant number of high-quality jobs.”
Chris Wardle, managing director at Foresight, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Mark, Mike and team over the past six years. They have worked tirelessly to build Onfab into a global brand that is recognised as the gold standard in pharmaceutical containment. It has been a fascinating journey and we wish them all the best as they continue to capture this exciting market opportunity with Savillex.”
Mark Arnold
Mark Arnold, Managing Director of Onfab, comments: “A big thank you to Foresight for enabling the development of the Onfab business and driving our international growth strategy, with particular thanks to Chris Wardle for his support and dynamism. It has been a pleasure to work together, and the team and I are looking forward to working with our new partners, Savillex and Thompson Street.”
Lead Advisor was the London office of American advisory firm EC M&A, legal advisors were Squire Patton Boggs and financial advice was provided by Dow Schofield Watts.
