Caledonia Investments sells supported living provider

23rd Oct 2018 08:14

(Sharecast News) - Caledonia Investments has sold supported living care provider Choice Care Group for net proceeds of £99.4m, five years after it was bought.The net proceeds will be used to repay part of the amounts drawn under Caledonia's bank facilities in connection with the recent acquisition of Deep Sea Electronics. Earlier this month, the investment company spent £117.2m, with a £50m bridging loan to be replaced by external bank debt.Caledonia, which acquired a 97.7% stake in Choice for £49.5m in cash, has invested £5.4m in the business and hitherto received dividend distributions of £6.1m. The sale proceeds include a pre-sale dividend of £7.1m.Choice, which has undergone a 32% increase in its residential capacity to 514 beds under Caledonia, is being bought by iCON Infrastructure Partners, a fund advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP, an independent infrastructure investment group.Choice, whose chief executive Edwina Johnston will remain with the company following the sale, has retained market leading compliance ratings with the Care Quality Commission.The investment was held in Caledonia's audited accounts as at 31 March 2018 at £81.9m and was revalued at 30 September 2018 to £93.2m.Caledonia said Choice has delivered a net internal rate of return of 14.3%.Duncan Johnson, Caledonia's head of unquoted investments, said: "Caledonia's unquoted strategy is to invest in leading businesses with quality management teams, seeking long-term capital. We are delighted with how Choice has grown under our ownership, enabling it to provide its high quality residential services to a third more patients than five years ago, and we congratulate Edwina and her team for their stewardship of the business during that time. We wish them and the company every success under their new ownership."