Foresight exits TES Group to Legrand Group, returning 4x

• The electrical engineering specialist saw revenue growth of 84% to £72m through Foresight’s investment period, with employee numbers increasing by 60%
• TES is a key supplier of power distribution equipment to critical infrastructure throughout the UK and Ireland and across Europe
• Foresight continues to demonstrate its commitment to equity funding support for SMEs across the island of Ireland, supported by a team of five investment professionals working from offices in Dublin and Belfast, with more than £100 million to deploy
• Foresight remains one of the most active investors in the UK and Ireland having completed six investments and three exits in Ireland and Northern Ireland in the last three years

Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced a successful exit from TES Group (“TES” or the “Group”), the Northern Ireland based specialist electrical engineering firm.

The transaction will deliver a return of 4x to Foresight’s invested funds. The investment was made through Foresight managed funds, with investors including AIB and the British Business Bank. 

The exit to Legrand follows a period of strong growth. Since Foresight's initial investment in 2024, the Group has expanded significantly, with c.300 staff now employed across its two manufacturing sites in Northern Ireland.

TES was founded in 1999, by Brian Taylor, CEO, and Noel McCracken, Managing Director, to provide water and power technology engineering expertise, specialising in critical infrastructure. The business quickly developed its offering and today operates two divisions serving distinct end markets. TES Power specialises in the design and manufacture of high specification low voltage power distribution equipment, mainly for application within datacentres. TES Water provides Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control, Automation (“MEICA”) design and build services to UK and Ireland water and wastewater utility companies. For example, in 2023, TES Water completed substantial works on the Irish Water Ringsend wastewater treatment plant upgrade. The plant is now the largest in Ireland and processes approximately 40% of all public wastewater. 

During Foresight’s investment period, TES invested significantly in its facilities and expanded its state-of-the-art head office and manufacturing facility in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, with the opening of the TES Power Data Centre campus in Co. Derry. This facility provides over 300,000 sq. ft. of additional manufacturing capacity and has enabled the business to meet a substantial increase in global demand for its products. 

Reflecting Foresight's commitment to supporting sustainable growth, at initial investment in 2024, James Peacock joined as non-executive Chair. Led by a highly experienced senior management team, the Group has developed a scalable manufacturing production line, incorporating core principles of health & safety, automation and process efficiency. During the investment period, TES conducted its first carbon emissions audit to identify the main drivers of emissions and established an emissions reduction plan. The company has made significant upgrades across its lighting to reduce energy use and emissions. The business has shown great support for meaningful social initiatives, offering 30 apprenticeships in 2025 to help young people into work, and has been deliberate in its hiring approach to reflect a meaningful year-on-year improvement in new hires of female staff in what has historically been a male-dominated sector.

Graeme Mckinstry, Director at Foresight Group, comments: “Led by a highly impressive management team, TES is an excellent example of our unique commitment to investing in growing companies across the UK and Ireland. TES has established itself as a leading provider of power distribution equipment across the European datacentre market and remains a trusted supplier to UK and Irish critical infrastructure network providers. It has been a pleasure to support the business through a period of significant growth. We wish its dedicated and entrepreneurial team every success under the new ownership and are confident it will continue to thrive."

Brian Taylor, CEO of TES, said: ““The partnership with Foresight has been a pivotal chapter in the TES story. Their investment provided the capital and the confidence to scale our operations rapidly, particularly as we addressed the surging global demand for data centre infrastructure. We are grateful for their guidance and the collaborative spirit they brought to our board, which helped us professionalise our processes while maintaining our entrepreneurial culture. Joining Legrand represents a fantastic opportunity for our people and our customers as we move into this next phase of international growth.”

Noel McCracken, Managing Director of TES, commented: “Foresight’s support over the last two years has been instrumental in our evolution from a regional specialist to a major European player in critical power and water infrastructure. Beyond the financial investment, their focus on sustainability and social value helped us accelerate our ESG initiatives and apprenticeship programmes. We thank the Foresight team for their belief in our vision and for being a true partner in our success. We are excited to continue this momentum as part of Legrand.”

With offices in Belfast and Dublin, Foresight has over £100 million to invest into growing companies across the island of Ireland. To date, it has invested over £100 million into businesses across a range of sectors and transaction types throughout Northern Ireland and Ireland. In 2024, Foresight successfully exited Northern Ireland-based private hospital group, Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, after supporting a sustained period of growth and job creation – where it increased employees to over 1,000 across 11 hospital sites.  Last year, Foresight realised its investment in Hospital Services Limited, the market-leading healthcare distributors across the UK and Ireland.