During the decade that Sovereign partnered with the management team of Tracscare Group, the adult mental health and learning disability care provider, the business enhanced both its range of services and geographic reach. Through a programme of continued investment and roll-out by the time of exit the company had more than tripled in size.
Tracscare was founded in 1983 to treat and support clients with complex needs including autism and brain injuries. By 2004, when Sovereign acquired a majority stake in the business, the company was providing adult mental health services to over 130 clients in 21 residential homes in South Wales and the Midlands. The company had also earned a reputation for being a leader in the field of 'dual diagnosis', the ability to diagnose when an individual has both mental health and learning disability issues.
Sovereign committed to provide further equity finance to support the Buy & Build of the business and the roll-out of additional care facilities.
In partnership with Sovereign, Tracscare became one of the UK's largest providers of specialist residential services, with particular specialisms in the fields of acquired brain injury (UK top three provider) and mental health and learning disability support (UK top 10 provider). The company increased the number of homes it operated from 21 at investment to 75 by the time of exit, and the number of service users in its care from 130 to over 350. The company also extended its geographic reach from South Wales and the Midlands into the South West and Eastern England.
Tracscare was sold in June 2014 to G Square, a European private equity fund focused on healthcare.
Sovereign not only delivered the financial investment that they had promised to enable our business to grow organically and through acquisitions, they also brought enthusiasm and experience at board level to support Tracscare's management team in driving the business forward. The Sovereign team were always supportive, demonstrating knowledge and understanding of our business and market, and made the 10 years working together an enjoyable experience. On exit, Tracscare was a significantly larger organisation than the local Welsh business originally acquired.
Eric Millard / CEO
