Formerly known as Crawford Scientific was acquired by Element Materials Technology in July 2021, a leading supplier of chromatography products and analytical services to the laboratory research and testing sectors. Maven invested in Crawford in August 2014 and worked collaboratively with the business to execute a number of strategic initiatives, including the acquisition of Hall Analytical Laboratories which Maven’s clients also funded. Following the acquisition, Crawford critically increased its global reach, entering new markets in the US, China and Europe, leveraging Hall’s reputation for pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and environmental analysis and more recently e-cigarette testing.
During the time of Maven’s investment, Crawford’s turnover and headcount both doubled and profitability almost trebled, as a result of both the successful acquisition of Hall Analytical and the robust organic growth achieved across its distribution and knowledge transfer divisions.
Maven exited its investment in Crawford Scientific in October 2017 realising a return for Maven clients of 4.7x the initial investment in just over three years, with an IRR of 70%.
It was obvious during our very first meeting that Crawford had something special in terms of its technical know-how, customer service and strong culture and it has been a real pleasure working with this talented and dynamic management team over the past three years. This investment has been a positive one for our investors, delivering a 4.5x money multiple return and 70% IRR.
David Milroy, Partner at Maven
