BGF announces exit of DevOpsGroup

BGF has announced the successful exit of its investment in Cardiff-based IT consultancy DevOpsGroup.

The move marks the continuation of a strong run of local deal activity in recent months. This includes the completion of a £14 million investment in South Wales-based manufacturing business, Victorian Sliders – BGF’s largest ever deal in the Welsh market – and a multi-million investment in Swansea e-commerce business, Character.com.

BGF has been invested in DevOpsGroup since April 2018 to fuel the acceleration of its consultancy services and build on its strong sales momentum. The deal represented BGF’s first investment in Wales since opening its Cardiff office earlier the same year.

Founded in 2013 by chief executive James Smith and CTO Steve Thair, DevOpsGroup is a fast-moving firm focused on advising enterprise customers such as Admiral and on adopting modern software development models and shifting to cloud-based environments. It acts as both an AWS Advanced Consulting Partner and Microsoft Azure Gold Partner.

Today, our company is operating in a highly desirable sector driven by strong demand for niche cloud consultancies – demand which continues to outstrip supply. BGF’s investment has enabled DevOpsGroup to cater to more of this demand by increasing its consultant headcount to deliver a larger pipeline of sales and revenues. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the BGF team and have developed strong relationships in this time. We’re now well placed to look towards the future.

James Smith, CEO, DevOpsGroup

Edwin Davies, investor at BGF Cardiff who also sat on the board at DevOpsGroup, commented: “This exit is a notable moment for BGF and underlines our commitment to continue investing in the brightest enterprises Wales has to offer. The last three years have been a highly productive and satisfying journey with DevOpsGroup, which is now in a prime position to exploit the burgeoning market for cloud consultancy services.”

BGF has deployed over £105 million of capital this year across Wales, the South West and Thames Valley. With local offices in Cardiff, Bristol and Reading, over £66 million of growth capital has been provided to new portfolio companies and more than £39 million of follow-on funding for existing businesses based across the regions.