Our corporate finance team has successfully advised the shareholders of Phoenix Learning & Care (Phoenix), a specialist in residential care and education services for young people with special educational needs, on the sale of the business to the management team. The MBO was backed by Ashridge Capital and The Co-operative Bank.
Based in Barnstaple, Devon and operating across South West England, Phoenix runs ten homes, two colleges, one school and employs more than 220 people.
The transaction saw the exit from Phoenix of Rod Sens, one of the founding shareholders, with the existing management team of managing director Keith Burley and finance director Paul Cann reinvesting a proportion of their proceeds and remaining in place to grow the business.
Ashridge Capital was awarded exclusivity following a competitive bidding process which generated a significant level of interest from a number of major players in the healthcare market, from both trade buyers and private equity investors.
Keith Burley commented: “These are exciting times for our business and we look forward to being able to help many more children and young adults. We are an ambitious company and with the support of Ashridge Capital we aim to grow our workforce and expand into new territories in the near future.”
We chose Grant Thornton for their excellent sector knowledge which they demonstrated throughout the sales process. Grant Thornton helped us to put our basic plans into a well-built strategic plan, they identified buyers, managed the sales process professionally, focussing on delivering what we as directors each wanted to achieve and we are very pleased with the end result.
Keith Burley Managing Director Phoenix Learning & Care
