Cinven is the only private equity firm to have two of its portfolio companies ranked in the top 10 of the latest Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 which ranks Britain’s 250 leading mid-market private companies.
Partnership, the specialist provider of financial solutions for people with health/lifestyle conditions, and Gondola, the casual dining operator, have been ranked first and fifth respectively in the 2011 Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250. These companies represent the next tier down from the Top Track 100 private companies with the highest sales figures, provided they have also either increased sales or operating profit in their latest available accounts.
Partnership, ranked first, increased sales by 41% to £588m in 2010, after developing a successful niche for itself in the insurance broking industry, designing annuities, care plans and equity-release schemes for people suffering from serious medical conditions. Cinven has owned the business since August 2008.
Gondola, which operates Pizza Express, Zizzi and Ask, together with smaller brands Byron and Kettner’s, rose to fifth position in the Top Track 250 in 2011 from 12th in 2010. Gondola serves more than 40 million meals a year in its restaurants and has delivered strong performance, despite the recession, with sales of £545m up 7%. It has plans to open a further 40 restaurants, to add to its existing portfolio of more than 600, and expand internationally after acquiring Pizza Express’s international franchise arm. Cinven acquired the business in January 2007.
The Top Track 250 is compiled by Fast Track which researches Britain’s top-performing private companies. It complements the Top Track 100 league table of Britain’s biggest private companies, listing the next 250 companies that have reported an increase in sales or operating profit in their latest year.