Pet firm achieves growth and B Corp certification, and manages succession under private equity ownership
Inflexion sold its stake in Lintbells, a pet supplements business and owner of leading brand YuMOVE, to Vetnique Labs, generating a 5.5x return on invested capital.
Since investing in 2017, Inflexion has supported the company by expanding its direct-to-consumer channel and acquiring Walkin’ Pets in the US.
Vetnique Labs is a US pet healthcare company bought by Gryphon Investors in an April 2023 buyout.
Inflexion has made several investments in the pet-care market, including Medivet and Kyntec.
Established in 1999, Inflexion has an AUM of $10bn, with an average return of 25.7% net IRR across 15 funds, according to Preqin Pro.
July 9 (Preqin News) – Lintbells has grown strongly since Inflexion’s investment in 2017, with revenues increasing at a three-year CAGR of 46.2% from £12.3mn ($15.8mn) in 2018 to £46.3mn ($59.4mn) in 2021, the most recently available period, according to Preqin’s Company Intelligence data. The operating margin fell from 15.9% to 4.4% in the first year of investment, but has climbed steadily to 13.2% in 2021. The number of employees has grown significantly, from 109 in January 2018 to 225 in May 2024, while the company also achieved B Corp status earlier this year.
The ownership period also saw a planned succession for John Howie, who co-founded the business in 2006. Fiona Hope, an experienced marketing executive, was brought in as Chief Commercial Officer shortly after Inflexion’s investment and took over as CEO in 2022.
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