BGF fund invests €7m into Irish cosmetic surgery practice

Investment fund BGF has announced a €7 million investment in the Avoca Clinic, an Irish cosmetic surgery practice.

The Avoca Clinic employs about 40 people, including specialist plastic surgeons, across its clinics in Wicklow, Limerick and Dundalk. It offers a range of surgical and non-surgical treatments, including breast, body and facial procedures, on both an in-patient or out-patient basis.

BGF will take a “significant” minority stake in the business in line with its focus on supporting founders and owners to “grow their businesses and realise their potential”.

Founded in 2012, the Avoca Clinic is led by chief executive Niamh Murdock and sales director Ailish Kelly, a mother and daughter team who have worked in the cosmetic surgery sector for 25 years.

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Its latest accounts show that the company made an after-tax profit of €635,921 in the year to the end of October 2022. Directors remuneration amounted to €802,340 for the year.

Following the transaction, Lauren Sharpe of BGF will join the board of the clinic while Noel Daly will become its non-executive chairman. Mr Daly has more than 40 years’ experience in healthcare systems and is currently chairman of Eakin Healthcare Group, a Northern Ireland-based manufacturer of healthcare products.

Commenting on the deal, Ms Murdock said: “This investment, and the expertise that BGF and Noel Daly as our chairman will bring, will support our plans to expand our surgical capacity and footprint across Ireland in this next phase of growth for the clinic.”

BGF’s Ms Sharpe said: “This partnership underscores our confidence in the clinic’s potential to grow regionally and expand its offering.”

The deal is BGF’s 15th investment in Ireland since it began operations here in 2017, with a total spend of about €100 million. It most recently completed an investment in Galway-based Ocean Crest Marine, and has also backed Brindley Healthcare and Tigers Childcare.

BGF’s backers include the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, AIB, and Bank of Ireland.

Separately, Tirlán, the farmer-owned business formerly known as the Glanbia Co-op, has committed €10 million towards the development of a nurture fund, an investment platform aimed at identifying and scaling “innovative agri-food-tech solutions”.

Tirlán said it would target early-stage technology investments that “contribute to increased efficiency and drive sustainability along the supply chain”. It expects the first investment to take place in the first half of 2024.