Foresight invests £4.5 million into electronics manufacturing innovator ACL
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Manchester firm manufactures printed circuit board assemblies, sub-assemblies and complete electronic products and applications
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Investment reflects Foresight Group’s commitment to supporting innovative manufacturers across the UK
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ACL set to consolidate position as first port of call for customers across multiple vertical markets
Manchester: Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced a £4.5 million investment into Assembly Contracts Limited (“ACL” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer of printed circuit board assembly (PCBAs) for use in electronic devices and applications.
The Company, based in Wythenshawe, south Manchester where it employs 37 people, was founded by Adrian Jones in 1989. ACL manufactures bespoke product runs for customers in multiple vertical markets.
It holds many industrial approvals and has a diverse client base amongst a wide variety of sectors in the UK and internationally. The Company has a strong presence in transport and counts a number of major car manufacturers as customers. It also operates in the green technology sector working with power generation suppliers – and helps support life science innovators to bring new medical devices to market.
Foresight’s investment will allow ACL to scale up its operations, creating new skilled jobs. ACL has also benefitted from customers increasingly near-shoring their manufacturing process, resulting in surety of supply chain, a trend which is set to continue.
The investment from Foresight’s fund dedicated to the North West will see the appointment of Richard Webster as Executive Chair. Richard has extensive experience as a CEO and MD in privately owned, public and private equity owned businesses, helping to improve financial and operational performance. Tim McInnes – an experienced portfolio Finance Director having worked with several private equity backed businesses – joins as Finance Director.
Both Tim and Richard will support Adrian’s long-term succession planning as well as the wider expansion of the current team, which is based at a purpose-built 15,000sq ft premises on the Roundthorn Industrial Estate.
Adrian Jones, Founder and CEO of ACL, said: “As an ambitious Manchester-based contract electronic manufacturer, this is a great milestone for ACL and we are delighted to have secured investment from Foresight. We look forward to working with Foresight, Richard Webster and Tim McInnes as we continue our mission to support organisations in producing high quality products.“
Fiona Hatch, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight Group in Manchester, said: “ACL is already renowned as an expert manufacturer that serves a range of different sectors – as such, it has huge potential and we are looking forward to supporting the team in their next phase of growth, ensuring more companies and industries benefit from ACL’s expertise and quality commitment.”
