Forward advises Functional Gut Group on its investment from Foresight

Forward Corporate Finance (“Forward”) is delighted to have advised Functional Gut Group (“FGG”) on its £5.75m investment from Foresight Group (“Foresight”).

FGG was founded in 2014 by Dr. Anthony Hobson, an internationally renowned gastrointestinal (“GI”) clinical scientist, to provide high-quality diagnostic testing for patients suffering from pervasive conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which affects one in five people in the UK. FGG now operates three permanent clinics located in Cambridge, Manchester and London, as well as several collaborative clinics in the UK and Ireland employing 35 people.

The Company provided testing for over 12,000 patients last year across the private sector and the NHS. FGG is the only independent GI physiology service in the UK to receive an Improving Quality in Physiological Services accreditation (IQIPS) and its clinics are inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

The Company also runs a free to access online preventive health service called Tummy MOT®, providing science-backed gut health education and product reviews to consumers, and delivers a broad range of clinical trials to companies such as Reckitt Benckiser and Enterobiotix.

Forward has worked with FGG over several years to support its evolution. In 2022 FGG raised funds from TriplePoint to bring a joint venture fully into the group. This latest process was very competitive with the Company receiving nine offers from private equity funds. Foresight was selected for its experience in healthcare as well as the chemistry between the two teams.

Foresight’s investment will provide significant growth capital to enable FGG’s ambitious management team to drive geographical expansion in the UK, introduce new innovative tests to the market, and further scale the team. As part of Foresight’s investment, experienced healthcare executive, Arif Ahmed, will join the board as Chair, and Phil Clarke, formerly at Vein Centre, will join as Finance Director.

Sarah Moores, Director, Forward Corporate Finance, added “It has always been clear what a fantastic business Anthony has built, and the potential for a partnership with private equity to drive growth. Gut health is a very relevant topic today and with Foresight’s support the company is well placed to deliver more services to more patients, across more locations, improving more lives.”

Commenting on the transaction, Dr. Hobson said “Sarah has worked alongside me for several years and has been a valuable advisor as we have grown. Forward ran a competitive process and we met with various different private equity firms before selecting Foresight. Forward managed the process excellently. Their skill, perseverance and attention to detail were instrumental in getting this transaction completed.”

Legal advice for FGG was provided by Peter Allen and his team at Browne Jacobson, accounting support was from Adam Burt at HSA & Co in Saffron Walden, and tax advice from James Boustead at Rickard Luckin.

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