As we take the opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months, we recognise that whilst it has continued to be a challenging environment for many of us, it has also been a year of coming together in many ways. As investors, employers, and members of the community it has been more important than ever for us to step up and support our people, portfolio and planet.
From a portfolio perspective we have supported nine bolt-on acquisitions at a number of companies, including CMap, Altia, ICP, CTS & Orbis, demonstrating our commitment to driving growth and delivering value throughout economic cycles.
We were also delighted to deliver four exits throughout 2023, as we focus on generating liquidity and strong returns for our investors. We sold our majority stake in CTS (Fund II) and exited Future Industrial Services (Fund II), Accrol (Fund I) & Abbey Logistics (Fund II) in full.
We have continued to focus on harnessing the power of the portfolio, organising several forums throughout the year for our leaders to build out their networks, share best practice and discuss insights on a range of topics including people, ESG, the economy, cyber, funding, data and getting exit ready.
From a new investment perspective, we’ve continued to build momentum in the technology and healthcare sectors. In January we reinvested into CTS alongside Marlin (from both Fund II & Fund III), in March we announced our investment into human capital management software provider Cezanne HR (SME Fund I) and in Q4 we announced two deals that deliver momentum into our healthcare track record. Firstly, Antibody Analytics (SME Fund I), an immuno-oncology contract research organisation (CRO); and secondly Torbay Pharmaceuticals (Fund III) a sterile injectable contract manufacturer (CMO). Torbay represents NorthEdge’s seventh Healthcare investment and its fifth in Pharma Services.
During 2023, we released our net zero plan and became the world’s first private equity firm to achieve Gold Carbon Literate Organisation Status from the Carbon Literacy Project. We were also delighted to receive ten awards throughout the year, which is great recognition for our team’s dedication, hard work and performance. We welcomed four new people to Team NorthEdge and maintained our focus on culture, values and being a great place to work – evidenced by our eNPS score of +58.
Finally, centred on the theme of coming together, we supported numerous events and activities throughout the year for organisations and charities, including Yorkshire Children’s Charity, Smart Works, National Brain Appeal & Andy’s Man Club. As a result of our collective efforts, we are proud to have donated and raised over £125,000 for a number of incredible charities over the last 12 months.
As we look ahead to the new year, we would like to thank all our colleagues, in our business, portfolio and network, for their continued support throughout 2023. We know there will be further challenges ahead of us all, but we are confident that we will continue to find the right opportunities to invest in high-quality businesses, support our portfolio and develop our people throughout 2024.
Click here to read our full year in review.