Investing in Community Health: Private Equity Fuels Expansion Serving Underserved Areas

During Foresight’s investment period, ABL Health expanded significantly, increasing its employee count by over 160 and growing sales and EBITDA by around 150%. The exit generates a strong 4.1x return for investors in Foresight’s first North West regional fund, marking the ninth profitable exit from that fund with average gross returns of 5.4x invested capital so far.

This is the ninth exit from Foresight’s first regional fund, focused on the North West, with average gross returns to date being 5.4x money

Foresight Group (“Foresight”), the leading listed infrastructure and regional private equity investment manager, has announced the exit of Bolton based ABL Health (“ABL” or the “Company”) to Bay Tree Private Equity.

ABL Health is committed to reducing health inequalities and promoting healthy behaviours through the community-driven healthcare services it provides across the UK. It helps people to be healthier and happier for longer, through services such as weight management programmes, smoking cessation clinics, alcohol reduction advice, emotional wellbeing support, mental health services for children and young people, and preparing for cancer treatment.

Foresight invested in ABL in 2018 to enable the management team to accelerate its growth through expanding the Company’s regional coverage and range of services. ABL has an ambitious team, led by CEO, Denise Leslie, to which Foresight introduced a Chair, Christopher Jessop, who brought considerable experience in building leading UK health services businesses. Since 2018, the team was significantly expanded through the creation of a number of high-quality jobs and, at the end of 2023, the number of ABL employees had increased by over 160 employees.

Today, ABL is a leading Company in the community-health sector. In the past two years, its total number of clients supported to achieve a positive outcome – across driving good health practices, increasing weight loss, improving physical activity, quitting smoking, and attending alcohol intervention sessions – increased by nearly 15,000 to c.50,000. It is estimated that 62% of ABL’s clients are from economically deprived areas.

During Foresight’s investment, sales and EBITDA increased by c.150%. This exit generates a 4.1x cash-on-cash return for investors in the Foresight’s first fund dedicated to the North West.

Claire Alvarez, Partner at Foresight Group, comments: “It has been a pleasure to work with Denise and team over the past six years. Her team has built a leading name in community healthcare and through its work is contributing to alleviate the growing burden on the NHS. Foresight is proud to have worked alongside such a determined team and wish them all the best in their new partnership with Bay Tree.”

Chris Jessop, Chair of ABL, commented: “ABL is a genuinely values-driven business, making a huge and important contribution to addressing health inequalities in the community. Both myself and the management team have been very appreciative of the support that Foresight has provided to foster ABL’s impressive growth over the last few years and wish the business continued success in the future.”