Case Study: Covion
Covion is a facilities management business. Foresight was approached in 2005 by one of the company’s directors as a result of long-standing relationships. The company’s private shareholder base wished to exit, whilst management wished to remain with the business. Foresight identified the potential for a focused and entrepreneurially-led business to grow to the level of critical mass at which it could become an attractive acquisition target for one of its larger competitors. A Foresight partner acted as a non-executive director of the company, maintaining focus on new client wins and guiding the company towards the exit. Covion won major contracts with Britvic’s UK estate, Domestic & General, Archant and Tate & Lyle, resulting in a significant increase in revenues. This growth took the company into the UK top 40 in its sector and provided a higher profile which helped to attract interest from trade buyers. Covion was sold to Balfour Beatty Group in 2007 for £33 million. Foresight assisted management in preparation of the business for sale and guided the sale process to completion. Foresight secured a cash return of 4.4 times investment cost in a little over 2 years.
