Hill Dickinson advises on £38m management buyout of Fishawack Group
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Hill Dickinson’s corporate team has advised on the private equity backed management buyout of Fishawack Group, which values the medical communications specialist at £38m.
Founded in 2001 by Oliver Dennis and Dominic Miller, who will both continue to lead the business, Fishawack is a provider of scientific marketing and communications services to global pharmaceutical companies. Contracted with 15 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies, its services are typically provided from phase II/III clinical trial stage through to post-approval and last for the full lifecycle of the patents on compounds.
Headquartered in Knutsford, Cheshire, Fishawack also has sites in Abingdon and Brighton as well as two bases in the US and one in Switzerland and employs more than 230 staff.
Backed by the Manchester-based team of mid-market private equity firm LDC, the investment will hopefully enable management to accelerate its buy-and-build strategy through a number of targeted acquisitions over the medium term as well as supporting the growth of current client relationships.
The deal represents a strong exit for London-based equity house Growth Capital Partners, which supported the management team in a secondary buyout in 2013 and has seen the group more than double in size over the period of their investment.
Hill Dickinson’s national head of corporate, Craig Scott, advised the Fishawack management team and Growth Capital Partners on the deal, alongside an experienced team including legal director Michael Murphy and associates Beth Gore and Phil Wallbank.
Oliver Dennis, chief executive of Fishawack, said of the deal: “With GCP’s support we have made significant progress with our growth strategy over the past few years and bringing LDC alongside us will enable us to build on this further as we aim to create the largest independent player serving the growing global medical affairs market.
“We have completed six acquisitions since inception and three with GCP, which has seen us bring in additional expertise, while also enhancing our geographical footprint in the key US market.
“We are an ambitious team and want to build on this further, continuing to strengthen our market-leading proposition and further building our presence internationally.”
Hill Dickinson’s Craig Scott added: “It’s been a pleasure working with Fishawack again, having previously advised the group and its management team since 2008 on their present growth journey through the secondary MBO with GCP in 2013 and several completed acquisitions in the UK and overseas. This latest transaction with LDC will hopefully enable the group to continue moving forward with its strategic ambitions, which we look forward to supporting as the business continues to grow.”