BGF completes successful exit of fulfilmentcrowd

BGF has completed the successful exit of fulfilmentcrowd, the Lancashire-based global e-commerce fulfilment and logistics business. BGF has reinvested alongside Palatine, taking a minority stake, and will continue to support the business as it embarks on its next phase of growth.

The company has secured a majority investment from Palatine – a B Corp accredited mid-market private equity firm, headquartered in Manchester. This deal is testament to fulfimentcrowd’s strong track record of growth since receiving BGF funding, which has enabled significant expansion across Europe and North America.

BGF first partnered with fulfilmentcrowd in 2021, identifying an opportunity to back a strong management team, providing growth capital to further develop its tech-enabled platform for omnichannel retailers, capitalising on the accelerated shift towards online shopping.

In the last year alone, the company fulfilled nine million shipments via its platform, fuelling a 20% increase in revenue. As well as this, the company recently expanded its global footprint by launching new Asia-Pacific and European fulfilment hubs in Sydney, Australia, and Dublin, Ireland, respectively.

With origins as a family-owned ERP software business, fulfilmentcrowd CEO Lee Thompson and Chief Technology Officer Lee Gregson pivoted the business to its current model in 2016 – discovering a unique service proposition, as omnichannel retailers sought to outsource entire end-to-end logistics and fulfilment processes.

Lee Thompson, CEO of fulfilmentcrowd, said: “The fulfilmentcrowd platform enables ambitious omnichannel brands to simplify and scale their global logistics operations. We flex our technology, expertise and service delivery model to deliver solutions that create competitive advantage. In Palatine, we have found a genuine growth partner with the strategic expertise and positive approach to value creation that will help develop our entrepreneurial culture and drive sustainable growth over the coming years.

“We’re also grateful to BGF for their invaluable support over the last four years. They have been instrumental in accelerating our international growth, enhancing our technology platform, and laying strong foundations for the future. I’m pleased that we will be continuing the relationship and look forward to building on the growth milestones we’ve achieved together.”

The original investment by BGF was led by Partner Pinesh Mehta, with Partner Spencer Woods representing BGF on the company’s board.

Over the coming years, fulfilmentcrowd will continue to scale at pace, building on its award-winning proprietary technology. The cloud-based platform seamlessly integrates with customers’ sales channels, providing receipt of goods, picking, packing, dispatching, and delivery. It offers a live view of stock across multiple sites, tracks orders and returns, and provides analytics for finance and forecasting, as well as tools for automated stock re-ordering.