TowerBrook Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted us all: our team, our families, our portfolio companies, their employees and suppliers, our investors and the communities in which we live and work.

In these unprecedented times, the health and wellbeing of our team members remains a top priority for TowerBrook. We have put in place systems and support to ensure our team can continue to work effectively and safely throughout this period. We have also been working closely with our portfolio and investment partners to help them identify, monitor and manage key risks to their employees, stakeholders and operations, and to support them as and when required.

The TowerBrook Foundation has pledged to make additional funding available to local community organisations in London and New York to help them mitigate the impact of the crisis and its consequences for those they serve.

At the same time, our portfolio companies are expanding their handprint by taking positive action to benefit their teams, partners and communities. We are immensely proud to partner with businesses that exemplify our purpose and values. A few of their many contributions are highlighted below.

Kaporal

Kaporal designs, manufactures and distributes clothing and accessories and is based in Marseille, France.

In March, the company leveraged its relationship with a former supplier in Hong Kong to procure 4,000 face masks free of charge that were then donated to a major hospital in Marseille.

KeHE

KeHE provides natural & organic, specialty & fresh products to chain and independent grocery and natural food stores throughout North America.

The company donates 10% of profits to the KeHE Cares^® Foundation, allowing KeHE owner-employees to serve others by giving their time and talents to those in need. COVID-19 has seen KeHE Cares partnering with local organisations to help alleviate food shortages in Southside Chicago and other communities across the U.S. Recently, the company’s Care partners in Laredo (TX) gave back to KeHE, using sewing materials and equipment previously provided by the company for vocational training to make over a thousand cloth masks for KeHE employees. The company is working to ensure employee safety, including by introducing staggered shifts and supporting employees to practice social distancing, wear protective gear and exercise low-touch methods throughout the distribution channel. KeHE has also transformed its annual Holiday Show in June into a virtual event and is donating the proceeds to KeHE Cares partners across the country to help them support communities affected by COVID-19.

ICS

ICS provides specialised staffing, workforce management solutions and managed services to the healthcare, social care and life science sectors, principally in the U.K.

The company has taken a number of steps to help hospital trusts in the U.K. during the crisis, including increasing pay to nurses for short-notice shifts, providing longer lines of agency supply, and offering price discounts to support trusts who are struggling to source staff in the usual way. ICS also led the management of the temporary staff supply-chain for the temporary NHS Nightingale hospital that was built at the Excel Centre in London to cope with demand. Separately, ICS’ life science business has adapted to working closely with a number of biotech and pharma companies on both COVID-19 vaccines and antiviral therapies, providing resources to accelerate the progress of clinical trials. ICS is also providing experienced staff to assist in the UK-wide COVID-19 Infection Survey, a time-critical study designed to contribute essential evidence of infection and immunity in the U.K. population.

La Maison Bleue

La Maison Bleue (LMB), an operator of privately-owned nurseries, provides more than 10,000 nursery places in France and Switzerland and employs in excess of 4,000 staff.

In response to COVID-19, the company has made crèches available for the children of hospital staff and essential workers. LMB has also used its Facebook page to communicate with more than 25,000 followers during the lockdown, offering advice to parents on how to manage the physical and emotional needs of infants confined at home. LMB employees have made numerous contributions, including educational games and creative workshops for toddlers, advice to parents on getting a better night’s sleep and instructions for making cloth face masks.

OVH

OVH is an IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) provider, headquartered in Roubaix, France, specialising in cloud and internet infrastructure.

The company is experiencing greatly increased demand for its services as working from home and healthcare needs have risen sharply. OVH launched Open Solidarity, a global initiative that enables companies to collaborate with one another by guaranteeing the provision of reliable infrastructure, free of charge, for the entire duration of the crisis. Open Solidarity supports remote working for both businesses and public service providers, including schools and healthcare organisations, and can be scaled up to meet demand, including traffic spikes caused by heavy workloads.

R1

R1 is a publicly traded provider of revenue cycle management services to U.S. healthcare providers.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, R1 launched a dedicated global taskforce to prepare and activate a series of actions, including continuity and contingency plans across its global footprint. Operating in a work-from-home environment, in co-ordination with its customers, R1 is providing real-time support and monitoring with proactive controls to maintain high-value service and productivity delivery. The company has implemented new COVID-19-specific HR policies and is providing full coverage for all COVID-19 testing and diagnostic services for employees enrolled in an R1 medical plan. The company is providing ongoing guidance and support to customers in addressing key operational and regulatory impact areas.

Rewards Network

Rewards Network is a marketing services and financial technology company serving the U.S. credit card, loyalty and restaurant industries.

The company is focused on supporting its restaurant network through the COVID-19 crisis by offering comprehensive guidance to restaurants on navigating the process of securing government funding and sharing best practices in management. The suite of restaurant industry information marshalled by Rewards Network includes advice on refining and optimising take-out and delivery, and steps restaurant owners can take to help ensure the health of their staff and customers. Rewards Network’s salesforce is offering guidance to restaurants at no charge, and the company has waived the cost of its marketing services product until the end of May for new restaurants joining its programme.

TLN

The Learning Network (TLN) is a provider of value-added content and services to schools and higher education institutions in the Netherlands.

Following the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company leveraged its specialist knowledge and distribution channels to make digital teaching and learning materials freely available to schools and students. Schools that already access physical books through TLN can use the digital variants free of charge. TLN, in partnership with Academy4Learning, also offers schools and their teachers the opportunity to attend free webinars and training courses to help them design and implement digital education.

TRIMEDX

TRIMEDX is the largest, independent, provider-driven, clinical asset management organisation in the U.S.

The company is working with numerous hospital customers throughout the U.S., helping them prepare for a surge in COVID-19 patients and often providing additional services outside of contract scope free of charge. This includes helping with equipment transfers to hospitals in need, setting up new ICU rooms, procuring additional clinical equipment and servicing additional devices for no charge. TRIMEDX is also working with universities to assist in the prototyping and production of ventilators, and offering assistance with clinical equipment repairs to companies and government agencies in need.