The deal

Our Corporate Finance team has recently advised the shareholders of Create Fertility on the buy-back of the minority stake held by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge, to return the business to a family run organisation.

Headquartered in London, Create Fertility was founded by Professor Dr. Geeta Nargund and Professor Stuart Campbell in 2000, and specialises in natural and mild IVF, with a vision to promote gentler fertility treatment. Create has been a pioneer of natural IVF techniques, which use fewer or no drugs in a bid to increase safety and reduce side effects. In 2013 the team advised the shareholders through an investment by Livingbridge for a minority stake in the business, to enable Create to open a flagship clinic and centre of excellence in St. Pauls, London, and expand across the UK with further specialist IVF clinics.

Following the investment Create Fertility now operate eight clinics nationally including St Pauls, West Wimbledon, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Oxford and Hertfordshire, and perform more than 4000 treatments each year. In the last six years revenue has jumped from £4 million to £21 million, and recently the company expanded into Europe with the acquisition of Copenhagen-based Vitanova Fertility Clinic, which attracts patients from across the continent.

On this latest transaction, our Corporate Finance team were once again appointed by the shareholders and founding clinicians to act as lead and debt advisers through the buy-back of the minority shareholding held by Livingbridge. The team assisted with the negotiations, deal structuring and project management, and in addition, the Debt Advisory team were retained to secure bank funding through Santander to support the transaction. Looking ahead, the Create team intend to continue their expansion in the UK as a family run business and use Vitanova in Copenhagen as a platform for expansion across Europe.

“We look forward to making progress both nationally and internationally to make IVF safer, more physiological and affordable. On behalf of the Create Fertility management team, I would like to thank the team for their timely advice and efficient and swift completion of the transaction.” Professor Geeta Nargund, Founder, CEO and Medical Director of Create Fertility Health Limited.

“It is always gratifying to help shareholders through the whole of the investment journey, and I have enjoyed watching Create grow to become the leading private IVF clinic in the UK over the last 6 years. It is the right time now for the Nargund family to take the business back in to family ownership to embark on the exciting next stage of its development including expanding its new Danish subsidiary. I look forward to helping Geeta and Praful over the coming years and seeing them further promote Natural and Mild IVF across Europe.” Clive Hatchard.

“We greatly enjoyed working with the team at Create on this important transaction. Create are making a real difference in the IVF sector through their differentiated clinical approach and proposition which impressed all the lenders we spoke to. This enabled us to arrange a highly flexible and competitive debt package with the Healthcare and Structured Finance teams at Santander, providing a strong platform for the continued growth and development of the business.” Ian Milne.