BGF invests £5 million in Socitm Advisory

BGF has completed a £5 million investment in Socitm Advisory, an independent transformation partner working with UK public sector organisations to improve the services they deliver through people change, data, technology, and innovation.

With over 100 consultants across the UK, Socitm Advisory provides a range of professional services to maximise organisational effectiveness and enhance customer and employee experiences on projects ranging from multi-million, multi-year enterprise resource planning (ERP) system transformations to broader digital and organisational change programmes.

Founded in 2015, the business is headquartered in Northampton and is the sister company of Socitm – the membership network for more than 250 public services organisations engaged in technology-enabled modernisation.

BGF’s investment will provide the foundations for the business to further expand its range of services and client base across local and central government and the wider public sector.

Tony Summers, Chief Executive Officer of Socitm Advisory, commented: “We are delighted to welcome BGF as an investment partner to support our vision of bringing inspiration to UK public services. For many of our client organisations, technology-enabled modernisation is a necessity. This investment will support our aspiration to be their trusted advisor for delivering sustainable change, shaping future policy, and improving the lives of local citizens, communities, and the environment.

“Over the past seven years, we have re-invested £1.1 million in public services through our sister organisation, Socitm. Our future growth will unlock further investment in digital skills and leadership within the sector.”

The deal was led by Mark Nunny and Elena Kovalikhina, investors in BGF’s Central & East growth team. Mark will join the Socitm Advisory executive board as part of the deal.

BGF’s Mark Nunny, said: “Socitm Advisory is a well-established transformation consultancy, having built market-leading expertise and specialist services to support public sector clients facing the challenges of increased citizen demand for front-line services and expectations of a more digital and responsive organisation.

“We were attracted to the business by its focus on improving public services, the calibre of its people and the ROI it is delivering to its clients. It has strong ambitions to grow its services and influence in a large, addressable market and we’re excited to be partnering with Tony and the team on the next stage of their journey.”

As part of the deal, Socitm Advisory has also appointed Paul Heywood as non-executive chair. He brings significant experience of operating, growing and scaling businesses within the data and technology sectors, having previously served as chairman of BGF-backed IT consultancy and Cloud service provider DevOpsGroup, which was successfully acquired by Amdocs (DOX) in November 2021. Paul’s appointment follows an introduction from BGF’s Talent Network, the largest pool of non-exec talent in the UK.

BGF’s investment in Socitm Advisory comes off the back of news that BGF is planning to invest £300 million in early-stage and fast growth businesses across the Central and Eastern areas of England over the next five years. BGF’s local investment team, which is based in Cambridge, is focusing on the region due to the broad array of established and growing entrepreneurial businesses based throughout Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and across East Anglia.