Inflexion buys minority stake in Phenna

Alessia Argentieri
02 November 2020

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Inflexion Private Equity has acquired a minority stake in Phenna, a UK-based testing, inspection, certification and compliance (TICC) business.

The GP deployed capital from its dedicated minority investment fund, Partnership Capital II, which closed on £1bn in May 2018, exceeding its initial target of £700m.

Inflexion intends to boost Phenna's organic growth, while supporting its buy-and-build strategy with the acquisition of independent TICC businesses that serve a diverse range of sectors in the UK and internationally.

The purchase of a stake in Phenna follows another investment recently made by Inflexion via its minority fund, the backing of business services company Auxadi in September.

In addition to this vehicle, the firm is currently deploying Enterprise Fund V, which closed on £400m in April 2019; and its Buyout Fund V, which held a final close on £1.25bn in May 2018.

Inflexion has recently made a majority investment in technology education and recruitment provider Sparta Global, acquired from Key Capital Partners in October. The deal was financed with equity from Enterprise Fund V.

Inflexion is a mid-market private equity firm that invests in both majority and minority deals, typically deploying equity tickets of £10-250m. It is headquartered in London, with additional offices in Manchester as well as Bangalore, Boston, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. The firm has total assets under management of around £5.4bn.

Previous funding
Phenna's management team, led by Paul Barry and David Harrison, acquired the company's share capital from Academy Association in April 2019. The MBO was supported by a debt facility deployed by CVC Credit Partners.

The CVC funding provided the management team with a committed facility to complete the purchase of Hansen Aerospace and First Scottish Group, alongside all rights associated with the Phenna brand, as well as a number of other near-term acquisition opportunities.

Company
Established in 2018 and headquartered in Nottingham, Phenna provides TICC services to the manufacturing, construction and property markets.

People
Inflexion Private Equity – Simon Turner (managing partner); Mark Williams, Andreas Constantinides, Sam McPhail (investment directors).
Phenna – Paul Barry (CEO).