John Henry Group
Telecoms infrastructure services company
Contributing Sustainable Development Goals
Background
John Henry Group (“JHG”) delivers specialist, Tier 1 telecoms infrastructure services to the major network operators in the UK telecoms market including Openreach, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Gigaclear. JHG offer a strategic mix of providing fibre services, national maintenance network improvements and network services. JHG employ over 300 direct staff and use sub contactor resource to deliver nationwide Tier 1 infrastructure support.
The business was established in 1985 by John Henry Snr and by 2016 the equity in the business was held his sons Pat, Jim and John Henry Jnr and Steve Henry.
We partnered with Pat, Jim, John Jnr and Steve Henry through a minority investment in June 2016.
Our investment partnership
The market for broadband infrastructure is positively impacted by the need to fundamentally improve the fibre network throughout the UK which has only been reinforced by the impact of COVID-19 as people transitioned to working and learning from home. JHG are known for their quality and breadth of service and remain well placed to benefit from these market dynamics.
Strategic support through our Growth Toolkit
Since our investment we have worked closely with management, leveraging a tailored version of our Growth Toolkit and Network. We initially supported a rapid growth strategy and heavy investment in organisational development before pivoting to giving strategic support to ensure sustainable, profitable, long term growth:
Strategic Clarity
Business Shape
-
Strategy - Following the review of the business’s strategic objectives, the quality of the revenues and margins were enhanced and the JHG name for excellence is now being demonstrated across a wider tier 1 client base
-
Service Line Development - Built a clear vision and developed a range of KPI’s to support better reporting and decision-making and developing teamwork across the business at an increased scale
People & Organisation
Leadership
-
Succession Planning - Maximised the value of key influencers, providing a clear Exit Lens for the business
- Supported management with senior strategic resource to enable founder succession and develop increased operational leadership bandwidth
Platform for Success
Finance and Operations
-
Finance Function - Demonstrated flexibility on the financial model through further investment in the business when cash was tight.
Delivering the Best Outcome
-
High-Quality Delivery - Provided hands-on support and flexibility in the investment structure to ensure the right funding package for the business as it has evolved
-
Maximising Value Through Process - The business subsequently rightsized the overheads needed for controlled growth, substantially increasing the EBITDA; and delivering excellent cash generation