Phoenix is pleased to announce the successful raising of a £200 million continuation fund to extend its partnership with two high-performing companies: Nineteen Group (“Nineteen”) and Envisage Dental (“Envisage”). The continuation fund was led by Kline Hill Partners and co-led by Ares Management.
The newly established Growth Partnership Fund has acquired, alongside Phoenix’s latest flagship fund, Nineteen and Envisage from Phoenix’s predecessor fund. These two businesses, which were small platform businesses when Phoenix invested, now have a combined enterprise value of close to £450m.
Phoenix’s previous flagship fund supported the growth of both businesses for over five years and achieved a gross aggregate return on the exits exceeding 4.5x cost. Both businesses have significantly outperformed their original plans, and the transaction will enable them to continue their rapid growth.
Nineteen and Envisage
Phoenix partnered with Nineteen’s CEO and founder, Peter Jones, in 2018 to develop a leading player in the trade exhibitions sector through an organic and acquisition-led growth strategy. Since then, Nineteen has grown exponentially to become the fastest-growing business in its sector.
In 2019, Phoenix joined forces with Envisage founders Harry Gill and Dr Sandy Dau to build a high-quality group of private dental clinics through a buy-and-build programme. Now with over 60 clinics, Envisage has become the second-largest private pay operator in the UK.
David Burns, Managing Partner, Phoenix, commented:
“We are excited to continue the journey with Nineteen and Envisage, two fabulous businesses that represent the best of what we do. We are delighted to be reaffirming our support for them with this transaction. Each company has consistently delivered on its ambitious plans, and we believe there is significant opportunity for further growth.”
Peter Jones, CEO, Nineteen, commented:
“We are immensely proud to be able to further scale our business in partnership with Phoenix. With Phoenix’s backing the Nineteen team has ambitious plans to drive the next phase of growth, through building organically, launching new exhibitions, and further acquisitions.”
Harry Gill, CEO, Envisage, commented:
“We have always believed in building the highest quality dental group in the UK; a group that is truly aligned with its local teams to deliver the highest quality of patient care. We are delighted that we can continue to work closely with Phoenix, who share our ambitions and vision for the business. Our focus of empowering high-quality clinics with tailored support, while maintaining their local identity and clinical freedom continues to be our main objective – one which we look forward to working with Phoenix to achieve.”
Elena Laleh, Managing Director, Kline Hill Partners, commented:
“We are excited to support the continued growth of two high quality companies, which have each positioned themselves as emerging leaders in their respective end markets backed by a strong private equity firm and excellent management teams. Both businesses operate in fragmented industries providing for ample scope for inorganic growth in addition to high organic growth, which both platforms have also consistently delivered historically.”
Lazard acted as Phoenix’s sole financial adviser in connection with the transaction.
