Kartesia divests from Darwin Group

Kartesia, the European specialist provider of capital solutions for mid-sized companies has divested its position as sole lender and minority shareholder in Darwin Group (“Darwin” or “the Company”), the Shropshire-based provider with an innovative approach to modern methods of construction for the healthcare sector. Kartesia’s exit follows the acquisition by Portakabin at an undisclosed sum. This transaction is from Kartesia’s Credit Opportunities strategy and marks its exit from the first non-sponsored transaction in the UK.

Darwin is one of the UK’s leading providers of specialist offsite modular construction projects. Its innovative, high-specification modular systems are capable of rapid deployment in demanding environments, particularly in healthcare. The Company has become a primary provider to the NHS, delivering new healthcare facilities across the UK quickly, cost-effectively with higher sustainability standards.
Over the last 14 months, Kartesia has supported the shareholders and its team in delivering its ambitious organic growth plans to consolidate its leadership position in the healthcare space.

Richard Pierce, CEO of Darwin Group, said: “In Kartesia we found a partner who shared our ambition, enthusiasm, values and culture. Their funding has allowed us to invest in the business, further increasing our capability to deliver the industry-leading product and service that NHS Trusts crucially need. Thanks to their support we have also been able to improve our governance and operations to best in practice, which has facilitated this exciting opportunity with Portakabin. We will genuinely miss working with Kartesia, but are incredibly excited to continue our journey delivering outstanding healthcare facilities for our customer as part of the Portakabin organisation.”

Guillermo Ferre, Director at Kartesia, commented: “We are delighted with how far we’ve come in a relatively short period with Richard and his team at Darwin Group, which continues on its impressive growth trajectory delivering innovative solutions to the NHS. For Kartesia this marks an important moment as we complete our first exit from a non-sponsored, management-owned investment in the UK, solidifying our presence. We are increasingly seeing demand from business owners for direct investment from a likeminded partner, we are well positioned to assist in their growth.”