Foresight invests in tech manufacturer targeting future growth

A Manchester manufacturer of printed circuit board assembly (PCBAs) for use in electronic devices and applications, has received a £4.5m investment from private equity and investment manager, Foresight Group.

Assembly Contracts Limited, based in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, employs 37 staff and was founded by Adrian Jones in 1989. ACL manufactures bespoke product runs for customers in multiple vertical markets.

It holds many industrial approvals and has a diverse client base amongst a wide variety of sectors in the UK and internationally.

The company has a strong presence in transport and counts a number of major car manufacturers as customers.

It also operates in the green technology sector working with power generation suppliers – and helps support life science innovators to bring new medical devices to market.

Foresight’s investment will allow ACL to scale up its operations, creating new skilled jobs.

ACL has also benefited from customers increasingly near-shoring their manufacturing process, resulting in surety of supply chain, a trend which is set to continue.

The investment from Foresight’s fund dedicated to the North West will see the appointment of Richard Webster as Executive Chair.

Richard has extensive experience as a CEO and MD in privately-owned, public and private equity-owned businesses, helping to improve financial and operational performance.

Tim McInnes, an experienced portfolio Finance Director having worked with several private equity backed businesses, joins as Finance Director.

They will support Adrian’s long term succession planning as well as the wider expansion of the current team, which is based at a purpose-built 15,000 sq ft premises on the Roundthorn Industrial Estate.

Adrian Jones, ACL founder and CEO, said: “As an ambitious Manchester-based contract electronic manufacturer, this is a great milestone for ACL. We look forward to working with Foresight, Richard Webster and Tim McInnes as we continue our mission to support organisations in producing high quality products.“

Fiona Hatch, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight Group in Manchester, said: “ACL is already renowned as an expert manufacturer that serves a range of different sectors – as such, it has huge potential and we are looking forward to supporting the team in their next phase of growth, ensuring more companies and industries benefit from ACL’s expertise and quality commitment.”

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