Private equity firm NVM tables bids worth £20m

Feb 12 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

Mr Levett said the prices being asked for the companies are at multiples which would have been asked during the boom times, namely up to seven times earnings.

But he said actual prices are lower as earnings are off their pre-recession peak.

He added: “Good business will always attract decent prices.”

NVM was established in 1988 in Newcastle and traditionally invests alongside management teams and banks.

Its headquarters are still in Newcastle and it has offices in Edinburgh and Reading. It focuses on making investments of between £1m and £10m in growing companies.

Last year it made its most successful exit reaping £23m from a £3m stake in a drug company, with the possibility of a further £17m inside three years depending on performance.

This was generated from the sale of Manchester-based DxS to German drug firm Qiagen. NVM helped DxS get off the ground in 2001 with an initial stake of £1.25m with further investments forthcoming in 2004 and 2006.

During that time DxS became a leader in genetic testing kits to determine which patients are most likely to benefit from certain cancer treatments.

NVM currently has stakes in more than 30 companies across all sectors with its emphasis being on the qualities of the management team and the product.

The company has over 5,000 investors in its four major investment funds.