Coniston has completed an investment in Finlayson Media Communications (FMC), the UK’s leading dental communications company, to support its growth strategy. This investment is the fourth investment from Coniston Capital I LP, which had its final close in March 2022.
FMC is a trusted dentistry media brand, connecting dental professionals to their industry through multiple channels including websites such as dentistry.co.uk, publications including Dentistry and Private Dentistry, exhibitions and awards. FMC’s audience of over 98,000 dental professionals enables their media partners to reach a wide audience.
The business was founded in 1994 and is now led by its management team Craig Welling, Jason Newington and Tim Molony.
The partnership with Coniston will reinforce FMC’s plans to expand their digital and events offerings and to build on their subscription service, The Dentistry Club, where dental professionals can access CPD and online learning facilities.
In addition to the funding, Coniston has introduced James Tye as Non-Executive Chair. Tye has had a successful executive career in media including fifteen years as CEO of Dennis, which he led through a successful MBO and subsequent exit to Future Plc.
Craig Welling said: “To deliver our growth plan, we required a partner that understood what we are looking to build. We firmly believe that, with Coniston’s support, we will build on our position in the industry and realise the company’s ambition.”
Alfred Chambers, who led the transaction for Coniston and will join the board of FMC, said: “The FMC team are industry experts, having already built a market leading offering. Our partnership will support Craig, Jason and Tim and we are confident that FMC’s plans for the future will stand them in good stead to become a full service operator that helps dental professionals to progress their careers.”
Coniston was advised on the transaction by Browne Jacobson (Mike Jackson, Matt Dorman, Sonia Bains), Crowe (Dan Nixon, Ioanna-Maria Kasinou, Alex Slater, Emma Reynolds), Claritas (Ses Memhi), CRC (Emma Hillary, Billy Johnson) and BlairWest (Chris Marshall, Nigel Spurr).
FMC was advised by Castle Corporate Finance (Victoria Ansell, Alex Nursey) and Gunner Cooke (Peter Savage).
