Doughty Hanson & Co

Doughty Hanson traces its history back to 1985 when Nigel Doughty and Richard (Dick) Hanson started working together on European buyout investments within Standard Chartered Bank as founding members of its management buyout unit. In 1990 they established CWB Partners, a joint private equity venture between Standard Chartered and Westdeutsche Landesbank.

Doughty Hanson was established as an independent firm in 1995. In 1999, the group expanded its activities with the formation of a real estate investment team and the following year it established a team to focus on early-stage technology venture capital investing.

The following investments are representative of Doughty Hanson's portfolio of private companies:

The RHM Group - RHM was among the leading food manufacturing groups in the UK. Founded in 1899, RHM was acquired by Doughty Hanson in 2000 and listed on the London Stock Exchange in July 2005.

Priory Healthcare is the largest independent provider of mental health and rehabilitation services in the UK. Priory was acquired by Doughty Hanson in 2002 and was sold in July 2005 in a transaction valued at £875m.

Saft Groupe S.A. - Saft is a manufacturer of high-end batteries for a wide range of niche applications, including aviation, railway, industrial stand-by, defence, and emergency lighting. Saft was acquired by Doughty Hanson in 2004 and the company was listed on Euronext, Paris, in June 2005.