Investor exits care village operator after providing £31m worth of capital
Growth capital investor, BGF, says it has generated a strong return on its investment in Springfield Healthcare Group, as it exits the partnership with a sale of six care villages.
Springfield Healthcare operates six care villages across the Yorkshire region, providing more than 500 registered care beds and employing 700 people.
Starting out as a single care home, Springfield first secured investment from growth capital investor BGF in 2012 to expand its care village model into more locations across the North of England.
During the investment period, BGF has provided a total of £31m of growth capital across multiple funding rounds to support the creation of new care homes, including a multi-million pound renovation of the former Terry’s Chocolate headquarters in York.
Springfield’s expansion has supported the creation of 700 new jobs in the region.
Graeme Lee, founder of the Springfield Group, will continue to own and operate Springfield Home Care Services, a domiciliary care business, and Springfield Garforth Care Home in Leeds as well as continuing to develop new Springfield Care Village projects in the region.
Lee said: “Springfield’s care villages are the result of a simple vision, the best environments with the best care in the heart of the community.
“We are confident our incredible homes and teams of committed care professionals will continue to flourish as we move forward.
“Our partnership with BGF has been truly transformative, positioning Springfield as a leading provider in the care sector and enabling us to expand our presence significantly over the last decade.
“Its patient capital and follow-on funding meant we worked within sensible timeframes to implement a capital and operationally intensive growth plan, all the while maintaining the highest quality of care for residents.”
Mark Rigby at BGF, who sat on the Board of Springfield, said: “We are pleased to announce our exit from Springfield Healthcare Group after a highly successful investment period.
“Our patient capital approach has allowed us to maintain a flexible and supportive partnership with Graeme and his team, providing sustained support throughout various economic cycles and the pandemic in ways other investment firms might not have been able to.”
Ben Barker, head of portfolio, BGF, added: “This exit represents one of the largest ever gains for BGF, following a 12-year partnership and a commitment to supporting the company’s aspirations.
“The outcome is the result of shared partnership values, thoughtful growth plans and an exceptional management team. We wish everyone at Springfield all the best for the future.”
In addition to the funding, BGF has played a key role in Springfield’s growth strategy, from facilitating key appointments, such as the non-executive chair, Mark Beadle, and collaborating with Lee and his management team to professionalise the business as it has scaled.
Advisers on the transaction included: for the company and shareholders: CBRE (Real Estate Advisors); Deloitte (Corporate Finance Advisors); Ward Hadaway (Legal Advisors). For BGF: Squire Patton Boggs (Legal Advisors)
