TELFORD CARE SPECIALIST IN £5.7M MANAGEMENT BUY-OUT

A Telford company which is the UK’s leader in specialised care for young severely disabled people has been bought out by its management.

Complete Personal Assistance (CPA), based at Central Park, Telford, has been bought in a deal arranged by Birmingham based corporate finance advisers Invex.

Total funding for the deal of £5.7 million has been provided by UK mid-market private equity provider Sovereign Capital, which specialises in the healthcare services sector, and the Royal Bank of Scotland, Corporate & Structured Finance Unit based in Birmingham.

The company’s four strong senior management team, including co-founder and managing director Barbara Scandrett, has bought CPA from a number of private investors and 3i.

The vendors were advised by the Birmingham offices of Deloitte and Touche Corporate Finance and Eversheds.

The company was established eight years ago to provide care services to enable individuals to return to their own homes from hospital. The business raised development capital from 3i in the mid 1990’s and has shown substantial growth since inception.

Originally, CPA was focused on those who had suffered serious spinal injuries, which had left them paralysed. Today, the company also provides care for people with disabilities arising from illnesses such as multiple sclerosis and strokes.

CPA through its specialised training of staff and expert managerial support enables the client to create its own care package, and has been instrumental in changing people’s lives by integrating them back into the community.

The company, which employs 400 staff and has a £6m turnover, operates on a nationwide basis and is recognised as the country’s leading independent specialist care provider.

Invex director James Grenfell said: “CPA is pioneering a change in the provision of specialist services for the young severely disabled by improving their quality of life, whilst retaining their independence. CPA is leading the market and is well positioned to continue its historical growth rate of 25 per cent per annum”

Barbara Scandrett, a former social worker who is an acknowledged expert in personal injury cases, said: “The new structure will allow us to continue our rapid expansion and develop and improve our many services whilst increasing our client base. This is an exciting time for the business and its committed workforce.”

Jim Hart, another co-founder of CPA, is retaining his links with the business under its new ownership. Jim is himself spinal cord injured and will continue in his role as advisor to the company.

Other key personnel involved in the management buy-out are finance director David Burton, HR director Hannah Taylor, and operations director Sheila Bowden, who is also a registered nurse. Other key advisers to management included Gateley Wareing, who provided legal services to the management team, and Robson Rhodes, who acted as reporting accountants. Needham and James acted as lawyers to the Royal Bank of Scotland.