Development capital fund cuts teeth
The £45m Development Capital portion of the North West fund, controlled by YFM Private Equity, has made its maiden investment.
The fund has invested an undisclosed amount into Huyton-based dental implants business Evodental, which was set up three years ago by Dr Rajesh Vijayanarayanan (Vijay).
The company currently employs 10 staff and has built a base of more than 500 customers. It intends to use the cash to extend its existing premises to provide more treatment rooms and to take on more staff to meet increased demand for dental implants.
The North West Fund for Development Capital is a sub-fund of the £185m North West Fund financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). It was launched in February last year.
YFM investment director Deborah Heyes said Evodental’s team has “one of the best reputations in the UK for providing specialist cost effective dentistry”. Dr Vijay qualified from the University of Liverpool in 1994 and ran several dental practices before setting his implants business up 13 years ago.
Dental implants are an alternative to conventional bridges and partial dentures. Patients of Evodental have typically either lost teeth and require a partial implant or require more extensive complex implants for four or more teeth.
Dr Vijay said: “I am excited about partnering with YFM Equity Partners as the North West team can help us transform our business and treat more patients locally and across the UK.”
Legal advice was provided to Evodental by Weightmans and to YFM Equity Partners by Cobbetts.
