Business Growth Fund Mergers and Acquisitions Summary

Growth Capital Firm Profile

In the last 3 years, Business Growth Fund has acquired 3 companies. It has also invested in 91 others.

Business Growth Fund’s most common sectors for investment arebusiness services (11%) and information technology (9%) . The Firm’s most common investment types include growth capital (82%) and venture (6%). In total, Business Growth Fund has invested in 3 US states and 6 different countries.

In the last 3 years, Business Growth Fund has exited 44 companies. The Firm’s most common exit type is trade sale (58%). Business Growth Fund’s largest (disclosed) exit occurred in 2015 when it sold Unruly Group for $89M.

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M&A Summary

  • M&A Total Activity260
    • M&A Buy Activity204
    • M&A Sell Activity56
  • Total Sectors Invested 43
  • Total Countries Invested 6
  • M&A Buy/Sell Connections 49
  • M&A Advisors 27

Business Growth Fund Ltd. (BGF)

13-15 York Buildings,
London, WC2N 6JU
United Kingdom
+020 7340 0600
www.bgf.co.uk
john.swarbrick@bgf.co.uk

Business Growth Fund (BGF) is a private investment firm focused on early and growth-stage investing across the UK. The Firm also invests in publicly traded companies. BGF's growth team looks to invest £1 to £15 million in small to mid-sized companies looking for additional capital to pursue growth. BGF was established in 2011 and is headquartered in London.


Investment Criteria

Sectors of Interest: Aerospace, Apparel/Textiles, Automotive, Beverages, Building Materials, Business Services, Construction, Consumer Products, Consumer Services, Digital Media, E-Commerce, Education, Electronics, Energy Services and Equipment, Engineering, Environmental, Food, Healthcare Services, Information Technology, Infrastructure, Internet Software and Services, Leisure, Life Science, Machinery, Manufacturing, Marketing, Media, Medical Products, Oil/Gas Exploration, Real Estate, Renewable Energy, Retail, Software, Technology Hardware

Target Transaction Types: Growth Capital, Venture

Geographic Preferences: United Kingdom

Transaction Criteria Min Max
Target Revenue 3 150
Target EBITDA - -
Investment Size 1 15
Enterprise Value - -
values in millions of GBP

M&A Summary

Buy vs Sell

Year ≤ '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21 T
Buy (22.4/yr) # 92 18 26 21 22 25 204
Sell (9.8/yr) # 7 5 9 9 9 17 56
vol $89M $85M $174M
  260

Most Recent M&A

Company Date Value Type
HeleCloud Ltd. 2021-10-04 - Add-on Acquisition
London, United Kingdom · www.helecloud.com
Coopland & Son (Scarborough) Ltd. 2021-10-04 - Add-on Acquisition
Scarborough, United Kingdom · www.cooplands-bakery.co.uk
isol8 Ltd. 2021-09-21 - Growth Capital
Aberdeen, United Kingdom · www.isol8.com
Wiserfunding Ltd. 2021-09-21 - Growth Capital
London, United Kingdom · www.wiserfunding.com
Hicomply Ltd. 2021-09-21 - Growth Capital
Durham, United Kingdom · www.hicomply.com
Antser Group 2021-09-17 - Growth Capital
Birmingham, United Kingdom · www.antser.com
Bambino Mio Ltd. 2021-09-13 - Growth Capital
Northampton, United Kingdom · www.bambinomio.com
The Clearway Group Ltd. 2021-09-06 - Secondary Buyout
London, United Kingdom · www.theclearwaygroup.co.uk
VirtualPiE Ltd. 2021-09-03 - Add-on Acquisition
Cranfield, United Kingdom · www.bhrgroup.com
Victorian Sliders 2021-08-31 - Growth Capital
Carmarthenshire, United Kingdom · www.victoriansliders.co.uk
View All >>

Portfolio M&A

Company Acquired Add-On/Sale Date #
Bigblu Broadband plc 2016-07-16 Quickline Communications Ltd. 2021-04-23 2
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom · www.bbb-plc.com Hessle, United Kingdom · www.quickline.co.uk
Bigblu Broadband plc 2016-07-16 Bigblu Broadband plc - Satellite Broadband Activities 2020-07-31 1
Oxfordshire, United Kingdom · www.bbb-plc.com Bicester, United Kingdom
Extentia Group 2019-06-06 Styles & Wood Plc 2019-06-06 1
Manchester, United Kingdom · www.extentiagroup.co.uk Altrincham, United Kingdom
ROVOP Ltd. 2015-04-01 M2 Subsea Ltd. - 28 ROVs 2018-10-19 1
Aberdeen, United Kingdom · www.rovop.com Westhill, United Kingdom

M&A by Sector

Sector Current # Value All-time # Value
Business Services 13 (9%) - 21 (10%) -
Information Technology 14 (10%) - 18 (9%) -
Software 10 (7%) - 15 (7%) -
Automotive 10 (7%) - 10 (5%) -
Internet Software and Services 7 (5%) - 10 (5%) -
Retail 6 (4%) - 9 (4%) -
Marketing 4 (3%) - 8 (4%) -
Aerospace 6 (4%) - 7 (3%) -
Consumer Products 5 (3%) - 7 (3%) -
Environmental 6 (4%) - 7 (3%) -
Restaurants 4 (3%) - 7 (3%) -
Communications 5 (3%) - 6 (3%) -
Food 4 (3%) - 5 (2%) -
Healthcare Services 2 (1%) - 5 (2%) -
Life Science 4 (3%) - 5 (2%) -
Real Estate 4 (3%) - 5 (2%) -
Consumer Services 3 (2%) - 4 (2%) -
Energy Services and Equipment 2 (1%) - 4 (2%) -
Technology Hardware 2 (1%) - 4 (2%) -
Beverages 3 (2%) - 3 (1%) -
Building Materials 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Construction 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Engineering 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Leisure 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Medical Products 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Transportation 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Apparel/Textiles 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
E-Commerce 1 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Education 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Electrical Equipment 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Machinery 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Oil/Gas Exploration 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Publishing 1 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Safety/Security 1 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Staffing 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Chemicals - - 1 (< 1%) -
Digital Media 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Distribution - - 1 (< 1%) -
Furniture 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Manufacturing 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Packaging 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Plastics - - 1 (< 1%) -
Semiconductors 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Total 146 - 204 -

Acquisitions By Geo

State/Country Current # Value All-time # Value
United Kingdom 140 (96%) - 196 (96%) -
United States 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
  Wisconsin 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
  North Carolina 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
  Illinois - - 1 (< 1%) -
Ireland 2 (1%) - 2 (1%) -
Canada 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
  British Columbia 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Estonia 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Sweden - - 1 (< 1%) -
Total 146 - 204 -

Acquisitions by Deal Type

Type Current # Value All-time # Value
Growth Capital 121 (83%) - 167 (82%) -
Venture 10 (7%) - 12 (6%) -
Acquisition Financing 4 (3%) - 8 (4%) -
Buyout (LBO, MBO, MBI) 2 (1%) - 6 (3%) -
Stake Purchase 4 (3%) - 4 (2%) -
Secondary Buyout 2 (1%) - 3 (1%) -
Consolidation 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Divestiture 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
PIPE - - 1 (< 1%) -
Recapitalization 1 (1%) - 1 (< 1%) -
Total 146 - 204 -

Exits by Deal Type

Type Total # Value
Trade Sale 25 (45%) -
Secondary Sale 16 (29%) -
Trade Sale - Public Company 9 (16%) 174M (100%)
Bankruptcy 2 (4%) -
Merger 2 (4%) -
IPO 1 (2%) -
Unknown 1 (2%) -
Total 56 $174M

Top M&A Advisors

Financial Deals
KPMG Corporate Finance LLC
 5
Mazars Group - Investment Bank
 1
GCA Altium Ltd.
 1
Legal Deals
Shoosmiths LLP
 4
CMS Legal Services EEIG
 3
Ward Hadaway LLP
 2

Deal Values

sell # Total
< $100M 2 $174M
TOTAL $174M
Largest Unruly Group Ltd.
$89M (2015-09-16)

M&A Connections

Deals
Acquired from
Investor(s)
1%
3 (1%)
Strategic(s)
< 1%
1 (< 1%)
Exited to
Investor(s)
27%
15 (27%)
Strategic(s)
61%
34 (61%)

Investor Summary

Investor Type

Growth Capital Firm

Size

Large

PE Assets

2.5B GBP

Established

2011

Specialist/Generalist

Generalist

Leadership

Stephen Welton

Executive Chairman

John Swarbrick

Head of Portfolio

Andy Gregory

CIO

Matthew Reed

COO

Neil Johnson

Deputy Chairman & Senior Independent Director

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