YFM Equity Partners has backed a management buyout at Audiological Science, one of the UK鈥檚 leading independent audiology specialists.聽
Headquartered in London and operating nationwide, AS provides hearing tests, hearing aids, and a broad range of audiology services to both NHS and private-pay patients.聽
As a specialist community-based provider, AS plays a crucial role in supporting the NHS in its ambition to take low-complexity ear care out of hospital settings, reducing waiting lists and freeing up hospitals to focus on more complex cases.
Founded in 2014, the business has grown significantly to meet increasing demand and now works with nine Integrated Care Boards across England.聽
YFM鈥檚 investment will support AS鈥檚 ambitious growth plans, enabling further expansion into additional NHS regions as demand for community-based care continues to rise.聽
YFM is backing incumbent managing director Deep Patel to lead the business through the next phase. Additionally, Jon Lowe, the former CEO of Connect Health, has joined AS as a non-executive chair, and Phil Semke has joined as CFO.
“YFM are helping us to lay the foundations for the next phase of our growth journey,鈥� said Patel.聽
鈥淭heir financial support is complemented by leading strategic insight, which will ensure we鈥檙e perfectly positioned to achieve our scale-up ambitions.鈥�
Adam Hart, investment director at YFM, added: 鈥淒eep and his team have really impressed us with their strong insight into the audiology market, and how they have developed a scalable model with community care at its heart.聽
鈥淭he business has been growing rapidly, and we鈥檙e delighted to be supporting them on the next stage of their journey alongside a high-calibre, sector experienced, non-executive chair.鈥�