BGF invests over £60 million in London and the South East in first half of 2022

BGF announces it has backed eight new companies in London and the South East in the first half of 2022. Total investment reached £63 million, including £57 million into new companies, and almost £6 million into the existing portfolio.

In the same period, BGF’s London and South East team delivered four successful exits, returning £81 million of capital. These were the sale of SaaS subscription management platform Abacus to Naviga Inc., TalkTalk’s acquisition of Virtual 1 and Bowmark Capital’s acquisition of Cornwall Insight.

BGF also exited LoopMe, an advertising technology company after the business was acquired by Mayfair Equity Partners. The deal provided a successful realisation for BGF, which led a $17 million investment into the business in 2018. BGF retained a minority stake in the business and continues as a long-term partner to the company alongside Mayfair.

New investments in H1 2022 covered a variety of industries including digital transformation, education and fire safety. Deals included a multi-million-pound investment into Harnham, the global leader in data and analytics (D&A) recruitment; and £9 million into fire safety business, Triangle Fire Systems.

BGF welcomed three new investees in the corporate learning space after completing significant investments with global financial training firm, Alpha Development, digital learning, film, and communications company, Media Zoo, and innovative augmented reality training business, ARuVR.

As we pass the half year mark in 2022, we’re pleased to have seen really strong momentum across London and the South East. Recent activity includes an interesting mix of new investments and follow-on deals, as well as several successful exits which are delivering strong returns for BGF and the management teams we back. We recognise the increased uncertainty in the wider economy but remain committed to ensuring there is a steady flow of capital supporting ambitious businesses, across a variety of sectors, that are looking to grow.

Nicol Fraser, head of BGF in London and the South East