Brian Livingston of Oaklins Smith & Williamson takes us through the sale of The MOLE Clinic

What is the deal?

We advised the owners of The MOLE Clinic on its sale to TriSpan-backed Sk:n, the UK’s largest network of specialist skin care clinics, which completed in August 2020. The MOLE Clinic has five London clinics, and specialises in skin cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment services for private patients and to the NHS. The value of the deal is undisclosed, but to give an idea of size, the business screens over 30,000 patients annually. The deal enhanced Sk:n’s traditional cosmetic offering into this specialist medical area. The MOLE Clinic also offers tele-dermatology to GPs nationally.

How were you introduced?

I’ve known The MOLE Clinic since its managing director Iain Mack, previously a successful lawyer in Glasgow, founded the business in 2003. One of the London clinics is next door to us in Moorgate. We got to know the business better as it developed, and when Iain received a number of approaches, he came to talk to us. There were several bids from UK and overseas private equity and private equity-backed strategic investors.

What were the timescales?

COVID-19 did not help. The MOLE clinics shut during the UK’s first lockdown, in spring 2020. But getting skin cancer diagnosed and treated is very important, so patients returned quickly once clinics reopened. The deal was paused during this period, then restarted. We never physically met the lawyers – it was all done remotely and quite swiftly once it got going. The driver was less about every last dollar and more about strategic opportunity longer term.

What was the strategy?

TriSpan has invested a total of $5bn in more than 130 companies and acquired Sk:n from Graphite in 2019. Since then, Sk:n has acquired The Adonia Medical Group and Destination Skin. The MOLE Clinic further strengthens Sk:n’s cancer-screening offering and adds to its growing range of dermatology services. As part of integrating the business into the Group, the plan is to roll out The MOLE Clinic’s offering across the Sk:n clinic network nationally. It’s a high-value service. Getting the model right and medical accreditation are key. They have always adopted the latest technology and provide nurses with highly specialist training. Costs present a high barrier to entry, but the potential market is massive. They have embraced social media, perhaps unusual in a medical business.

Who were the advisers?

I led the corporate finance advisory team, supported by Stuart Goodman and Joseph Sherry. Iain chose us for our expertise in private equity, roll-outs, our international reach (as part of Oaklins) and the fact that we had done quite a few medical deals. James Donnelly led a team from Tughans, on the legal advice. The financial and legal due diligence providers to Sk:n were BDO and Katten Muchin Rosenman respectively.

What were the lessons learned?

Demand is high for specialist operators of medical and healthcare services. The roll-out model is becoming increasingly attractive to established trade players and private equity alike. I expect more deals of this nature. 

We’ve been doing due diligence virtually for a long time. A focused list of questions means the data can be prepared, which works well; it helped us greatly on this deal, where Merrill ran the virtual data room. As useful as Zoom is, negotiating is much easier when you are in the same room, can see others’ body language and can chat informally, which can resolve issues that may be trickier to do formally or remotely. 

About the article

This is an extract from the full article in the Corporate Financier March 2021 edition - exclusively for Corporate Finance Faculty & Faculties Online members - who can access our highly regarded  magazine in its originally designed form, as well as our extensive archive brought to you by the ICAEW Corporate Finance Faculty.