Ion Equity
Partners

 
Ulric Kenny
Partner

A co-founder of Ion Equity, Ulric has led a number of its investments since the inception of the business. He led Ion’s investment in SWS Energy, which was sold to Bord Gáis Éireann in December 2009 for €550 million. He also led the acquisition of Ocean Media Group and served as its chairman until the business was sold to AAC Capital Partners in November 2007 for GBP £104 million.

Since 2011 Ulric has invested in a number of businesses on his own behalf, including:

  • • PrepayPower, Ireland's leading pay-as-you-go energy provider, which he has built from start up in 2011 to a 10% share of the Irish residential energy market and a business with over €200m turnover and 250 employees.
  • • Nua Healthcare, Ireland's largest residential care provider for people with complex intellectual disabilities. Ulric bought a majority share in the business in 2015, established platform with sector leading quality metrics, and drove 150% organic growth up to its sale in 2019 to iCON Infrastructure, making it one of the largest private healthcare investments in Ireland.
  • • Ocean Media, a UK exhibitions and magazines business which Ulric bought as a turnaround project in 2012, successfully stabilising and renewing growth in the business before leading its sale to Lonsdale Private Equity in 2015.

 

Prior to co-founding Ion Equity in 2000, Ulric worked in transaction services in PricewaterhouseCoopers London and in audit roles with that firm in Toronto and Waterford.  He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland

 

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