Synova invests £30m in Oakland Primecare's MBO

Kenny Wastell
21 July 2016

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Synova Capital has invested ТЃ30m in the management buyout of Oakland Primecare, an operator of private care homes for the elderly.

The investment will enable the company to expand via the addition of new locations.

The deal marks the second transaction with capital drawn from Synova's third fund, which closed on its £250m hard-cap in January 2016 after less than three months on the road. Earlier this year the fund committed £25m to independent financial adviser consolidation platform Fairstone Group.

The elderly care sector has proven attractive to private equity houses in recent years. In the past two months alone, Finish GP CapMan has made two exits in the sector – selling Samsa to IK Investment Partners' Attendo and Esperi to Intermediate Capital Group – while HgCapital has exited Mainio Vire to Triton's Mehiläinen.

Synova has a track record of backing assets in the healthcare sector, which accounts for around a third of its investments to date. Most recently the GP backed the management buyout of 4Ways Healthcare in June 2015.

Debt
HSBC provided a senior debt facility to support the deal.

Company
Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Harrow, Middlesex, Oakland operates residential, dementia and nursing care homes for elderly patients. The business currently manages two facilities, in Sussex and Essex, with a further three in development.

People
Synova Capital – Tim Ashlin (partner); Zachary Tsai (investment director); Jack Andrews (investment executive).
Oakland Primecare – Harnoop Atkar (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Pinsent Masons (legal); KPMG (debt advisory); BDO (financial due diligence); Deloitte (tax).
Management – JLL Corporate Finance (corporate finance); DAC Beachcroft (legal).