Foresight makes 2x on sale of Blackstar

This ends a five-year holding period for Foresight, in which time the company's revenues have more than doubled. Blackstar reported a pre-tax profit of £62,477 from a £8m turnover for the financial year ending in April 2016.

Foresight introduced former Maplin Electronics CEO Keith Pacey to the board and oversaw the introduction of new products including the ID:Series range.

Previous funding
In May 2007, Catapult Venture Managers acquired a minority stake in Blackstar for an undisclosed sum.

In July 2012, Foresight injected £3.5m into the business. The deal saw Catapult exit the business, reaping a 4.3x multiple on its investment.

Company
Established in 2004, Northampton-based Blackstar started by developing valve-powered guitar amplifiers, aiming for a lower cost compared with traditionally expensive offerings from more established brands such as Marshall and Fender. It started commercialising its first products in 2007.

Since then, Blackstar has diversified its offering by designing guitar effect pedals. It now has 50 global distributors and access to 3,000 musical instrument retailers. The company employs 36 staff.

People
Foresight Group – Rodney Appiah (investor director).
Blackstar – Ian Robinson (managing director).

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• Exits
• UK / Ireland
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• Foresight Group
• Management buy-back