Foresight invests £6 million into Clearview Endoscopy Limited, an endoscope servicing business

• £6 million investment by the Foresight East of England Fund to support the management buyout of Clearview
• Investment will enable the appointment of a new management team and will accelerate Clearview’s growth
• Darren Likely, previously Managing Director of Agar Scientific, is joining as CEO
• Investment is from the £100 million Foresight East of England Fund - since 2019, Foresight has invested over £40 million into SMEs across the East of England

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Cambridge, October 2023: Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced a £6 million investment alongside £1.5 million from Clydesdale Bank into Clearview Endoscopy Limited (“Clearview” or the “Company”), a business that services, repairs and maintains flexible endoscopes used in medical diagnostics in healthcare settings.

Clearview offers a leading service to customers across the UK and Ireland. The Company works with NHS trusts and private clinics to proactively limit endoscopy down times through fast and reliable repairs combined with a broad endoscope temporary lending offering. As the number of endoscopies increases year on year with the growing clinical focus on minimally invasive procedures and early diagnosis of diseases like bowel cancer, Clearview’s services help to reduce waiting lists in NHS trusts, allowing clinicians to detect and treat issues as early as possible.

Foresight’s investment will enable founder, Dave Cameron, to step away from the Company in a staged way and for a new management team to participate in the equity growth story; a process which will combine organic growth with select M&A opportunities. The buyout is being led by Darren Likely, ex-CEO of Agar Scientific Limited - an investment Foresight successfully realised in 2022. Darren has a strong sales-led background in servicing medical devices. Christopher Langley, an experienced Chair with a successful track record of delivering growth through bolt-on acquisitions, will also join the board.

The investment will also enable the Company to expand its service offering while creating high quality jobs across the East of England.

Dave Cameron, Clearview Founder, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Clearview team to create a market-leading service to clinics across the country. To take Clearview to its next phase of growth, Foresight will be a great partner to help guide the team. I am looking forward to supporting Foresight and the Clearview team, helping to make sure that our customers continue to receive a great service.”

Chris Wardle, Managing Director at Foresight, commented: “Clearview is a leader in its market with an excellent reputation amongst its customers for high quality service. Dave and the team have built a great business with lots of opportunity to expand its services. It’s great to be working with Darren again; his leadership style combined with sector knowledge make him a perfect addition to the Clearview team.”

Darren Likely, incoming CEO of Clearview, added: “I am excited by the opportunity to work alongside the talented team at Clearview. Having previously worked with Foresight to achieve great results, I am certain that, with Foresight’s support, we can continue to build upon the real success that Clearview has achieved so far.”

Foresight has a strong track record of supporting growth companies in the medical services sector. Notable examples include HomeLink Healthcare, IMMJ Systems, Hexarad, Hospital Services Limited and the recently exited Mi Healthcare which achieved a return of 4.1x invested capital.

Foresight continues to be one of the UK’s most active investors in growth companies. In calendar year 2022, Foresight Private Equity announced three new funds, a ventures fund acquisition, and expanded its office network - opening offices in Dublin, Leeds and Newcastle. So far in calendar year 2023, Foresight has invested into 50 growth companies and has announced a number of successful exits, including Datapath (11.7x money), Mowgli (3.5x money), GovGrant (4.5x money) and Fresh Relevance (4.0x money).

ENDS

Debt Funding

Senior Debt:                 Clydesdale Bank

Advisers to the Company: (if appropriate)

Corporate Finance:       Benchmark International

Legal Advice:                Gunner Cooke LLP

Advisers to Foresight :

Financial DD :                Dow Schofield Watts

Legal Advice :                Birketts

Management DD :         Catalysis Advisory

Insurance DD                Vista

Cyber DD                             KryptoKloud

Commercial DD :           PMSI Strategy

Notes to Editors

For more information contact:

Chris Barry: barry@thisisinfluential.com / +44 (0)7733 103 693

Lucy Sherwood: lsherwood@foresightgroup.eu / +44(0)20 3763 6977

About Foresight Group (“Foresight”)

Foresight Group was founded in 1984 and is a leading listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager. With a long-established focus on ESG and sustainability-led strategies, it aims to provide attractive returns to its institutional and private investors from hard-to-access private markets. Foresight manages over 400 infrastructure assets with a focus on solar and onshore wind assets, bioenergy and waste, as well as renewable energy enabling projects, energy efficiency management solutions, social and core infrastructure projects and sustainable forestry assets. Its private equity team manages eleven regionally focused investment funds across the UK and an SME impact fund supporting Irish SMEs. This team reviews over 3,000 business plans each year and currently supports more than 250 investments in SMEs. Foresight Capital Management manages four strategies across seven investment vehicles.

Foresight operates in eight countries across Europe, Australia and United States with AUM of £12.0 billion*. Foresight Group Holdings Limited listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in February 2021 and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index. https://www.foresightgroup.eu/shareholders

*Based on unaudited AUM as at 30 June 2023.