Kleinwort Capital Limited ('KCL') announced today that it has completed the sale of Sona Group Limited ('Sona') to Nuffield Hospitals ('Nuffield') for an undisclosed price. KCL led the £6.6 million management buy-in of Sona in September 2001. This investment marked the first transaction for KCL's fund, Kleinwort Capital Partners IV ('KCP IV').
Established in 1981, Sona, formerly known as Tweedpark Group Limited, is a leading provider of in-house fitness and wellbeing services to corporate clients in the UK. Since KCP IV's investment, Sona has achieved significant growth and has extended its services into areas such as physiotherapy, nutrition, complementary therapies and medical services. It has an extensive blue-chip client list including sector leaders such as GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, Clifford Chance and HSBC.
Richard Green, of KCL said:
Our buy and build strategy has worked successfully. Sona's experienced management team was able to make a number of complementary acquisitions in the corporate healthcare market. Since the investment, the company's turnover has increased by over 75% and this reflects the substantial growth opportunities in the UK corporate healthcare market.
Chris Jessop of Sona commented:
We have been delighted with the progress of the company over the last three years and particularly its development into a broader based corporate health services business. We look forward to building on this and stimulating further substantial growth as part of Nuffield.
Jack Jones of Nuffield said:
We are very pleased to welcome Sona to Nuffield Hospitals. This initiative reflects our recognition of the changing nature of our marketplace. It also demonstrates our determination to not only develop exciting new business areas but also to get much closer to our customers.