Maven invests £3.9m in Crawford Scientific

The fresh capital will enable Crawford to undertake an acquisitive growth strategy and invest in new markets.

Maven stated it was attracted to the company by its focus on customer service, which it said differentiates the company from its competitors. It also cited the $7.4bn value of the chromatography industry, predicting this will rise by 4-6% per year.

Capital for the deal was drawn from a range of Maven's VCT funds, with additional contributions coming from the GP's network of high-net-worth individuals.

Following the transaction, former managing director of Exova Europe, Sean Kerr, will be appointed chairman of Crawford.

Maven has now made four investments this year in UK companies that supply and service the oil & gas industry. Most recently it led the all-equity £14m management buyout of RMEC, a mechanical and hydraulic engineering services supplier.

Company
Based in Strathaven, Scotland, and founded in 1985, Crawford is a provider of chromatography consumables, instrument parts and technical services. The company serves a range of industries including the oil & gas and pharmaceutical sectors.

Crawford has a turnover of more than £10m. Its clients include GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and BP.

People
Sam Crawford is founder and managing director of Crawford. David Milroy is investment director at Maven.

Advisers
Equity – Mazars (Financial due diligence); RP Advisory (Commercial due diligence); Argyll Fenton (Management due diligence); Burness Paull (Legal); Lockton (Insurance due diligence); Mattioli Woods (Financial due diligence).

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Expansion
• Industrials
• UK / Ireland
• United Kingdom
• Maven Capital Partners