The Coalfields Growth Fund, which is managed by Enterprise Ventures, has achieved a significant return following the sale of ChargePoint Technology Holdings Limited, a leading manufacturer and supplier of valves and consumables for the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and chemical industries to LDC.
The Fund was set up following an initiative by Enterprise Ventures to support SME growth in England’s former coalfield areas with 50% of the capital raised from institutional investors and the other 50% from Department for Communities and Local Government. The deal represents the fourth exit to be achieved by EV’s Growth Funds and highlights Enterprise Ventures’ role as one of the most active Growth investors in the North of England.
Wayne Thomas, Investment Director at Enterprise Ventures said:
“The Coalfields Growth Fund was launched in 2009 with around £10million available to invest. Since then, it has backed a number of exciting businesses that add real value to their communities, stimulating the economy and creating more jobs for the regions.
“This significant return on investment is a perfect example of the value of investing in areas that are often underserved by capital”
Based in Liverpool, ChargePoint designs and manufactures specialised containment valves for use in production processes involving multiple ingredients that must not mix. ChargePoint’s products are widely used in a range of process-based industries, including pharma, chemicals and food. The company has also benefited from increasing market demands for health and safety solutions to protect employees and customers.
ChargePoint was originally established in 2009 as a spinout from Powder Systems. Since then, it has achieved strong performance and has grown rapidly. Earlier in 2016, ChargePoint moved to larger premises in the Speke corridor and installed a new, multi-function machine to scale the manufacture of its products. It also has additional offices in Hong Kong and the USA, and is seeing strong growth in exports, particularly in India, which was its largest export market in 2016.
Chris Eccles, ChargePoint’s Managing Director said:
“Enterprise Ventures has been a key element to the success at ChargePoint over the last few years, providing growth capital at a pivotal point in the company’s journey. They have been fully supportive of the business throughout, provided the business with advice where required, as well as giving it the freedom to grow and develop.”
As part of the transaction, the North West Fund for Mezzanine, also managed by Enterprise Ventures, which provided an important working capital facility to the company in 2013, also realised its investment, on the same terms.