Tag: Livingbridge

 

Coversure Insurance Services Group has been acquired by the current management team as part of a management buyout.

Tim Wright will join Coversure’s management team as non-executive Chairman as part of the deal. Tim was previously Head of Corporate Risk & Broking at Willis Towers Watson and, before that, Chief Executive of Willis International.

Livingbridge has invested in over 100 growing businesses in the last twenty years and have particular expertise in the insurance sector having previously invested in businesses such as Kingsbridge Risk Solutions. They will work closely with the management team to expand the franchise operation via acquisitions, new locations and the services offered. Further growth will be delivered by extending the product range, accessibility and investment in technology.

CISG comprises of online wholesaler Policyfast, specialist underwriters CUL, software house Datamatters, and insurance broker franchise Coversure. Founded 30 years ago, it has grown to over 90 offices throughout the country via an organic growth strategy that saw Coversure deliver Gross Written Premium (GWP) of £116m, Policyfast deliver GWP of £42m, and CUL deliver GWP of £9m in the financial year ending March 2018, leaving the Group well placed to build on this performance with our backing.

The deal is set to complete later this year, subject to regulatory approval.

Coversure’s CEO Bob Darling said;

“The management buyout is great news for all concerned. It will allow us to invest in the business and offer even more customers and brokers the high standards of service for which the Group has become renowned. Having Livingbridge as our investor and Tim as our Chairman will enable us to explore new opportunities and give us the impetus we need to accelerate our growth, both on and off the high street.  All our stakeholders, brokers and staff can look forward to an exciting period of growth and development that I feel will be to the benefit of all.”

Xavier Woodward, who will be joining Coversure as a non-executive Director from Livingbridge, commented;

“We are very pleased to be backing Bob and his team and feel that Tim will be an excellent addition at board level given his deep experience of the sector.  CISG is a business that performs a valuable role in helping brokers deliver service excellence to their customers.  We are excited about helping CISG, and all the partners they work with, grow in this next stage of development.”

 

disguise, previously named d3 Technologies, was founded in 2013 by Ash Nehru and his two business partners. It is a leading global provider of live event visualisation solutions, specialising in the provision of the software, hardware and support services for creative production teams to conceive, visualise and deliver high-quality, live productions.

The technology supports many of the world’s leading music touring artists such as U2, Rolling Stones, Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Ed Sheeran; Californian music and arts festival Coachella; several West End and Broadway shows such as Harry Potter; a growing number of Hollywood films and live TV broadcast settings, as well as numerous other corporate and entertainment events. Visit disguise’s website to find out more.

Livingbridge’s investment, made from its Enterprise 2 fund, will enable disguise to increase its market share and grow its global presence. Following its recent opening in Shanghai, disguise has further international offices planned, including Los Angeles in May. This investment will also support the launch of exciting new products, including state-of-the-art camera calibration technology and video formatting hardware.

This is Livingbridge’s latest investment in the software sector, with existing investments including Exclaimer, Red Box Recorders, Kirona and Mobysoft.

Commenting on the investment, Fernando Kufer CEO at disguise, said:

“We are at a really exciting time in our development as we expand internationally and enable some of the world’s most exciting visual experiences. We have already built a base of high-quality clients, and worked on live events such as The Brits, The Grammy’s, Glastonbury, The Rolling Stones, The National Games of China and many more. This investment from Livingbridge will enable us to take advantage of our growing presence in the industry and take our creative vision to the next level.”

Ash Nehru, Founder, said:
“We’ve always dreamed big and have been lucky enough to work with and for some of the most forward thinking and creative people in our industry. With this new partnership we have the chance to set our sights even higher.”

Matt Upton at Livingbridge said:

“disguise is at the forefront of visual software for live events, and we are delighted to be supporting them in their next stage of development. We have strong experience in investing in software businesses and believe disguise is a great addition to our growing portfolio.”

 

Founded in 1989 by Mary Lee and now led by her two sons Tim and Ben Lee, Helping Hands provides a wide range of tailored home care services, ranging from its hourly visiting service, to 24-hour live-in care. It also offers a nurse-led clinical care service which enables individuals with complex conditions to be supported at home. The business is headquartered in Alcester Warwickshire and operates from over 60 branches across the UK.

The provision of high-quality service to its customers and a rewarding working environment for its carers are central priorities for Helping Hands. The company was delighted to recently be ranked as #22 in the Glassdoor ‘2018 Best Places to Work – Employee’s Choice’ Awards, the only healthcare business in the top 50.

Livingbridge’s minority investment will enable Helping Hands to continue to develop its national presence, whilst maintaining the strong family leadership culture that has underpinned the company’s success to date.

Commenting on the investment, Tim Lee, CEO said:

“Our ambition at Helping Hands is to be the brand which is synonymous with quality home care in this country.  In Livingbridge we believe we have found a partner who understands our business, shares our ambition and who will help us reach our objective.”

Liz Jones at Livingbridge, said:

“The Lee family has built a fantastic business dedicated to the provision of high quality care. We are delighted to partner with this experienced team to support their continued aspirations in the UK homecare market.”

 

Giacom offers a one-stop platform for all of the cloud software, infrastructure and IT support services that an ITC might require to transition an SME client into a public or private cloud environment and then manage them on an ongoing basis.  Underpinned by a Microsoft 2-Tier Cloud Solution Provider licence, Giacom has rapidly become the vendor of choice for over 4,000 ITCs enabling the business to service a fast-growing addressable market estimated to be worth c£2.2bn.

Established in Hull in 1999, the investment from Livingbridge facilitates a management buyout of the business by Giacom Chief Executive Mike Wardell and his team from the founder, Nick Marshall. LDC who backed the business in 2016 are exiting and will be reinvesting alongside Livingbridge for a minority stake to support Giacom’s ongoing growth strategy. Yorkshire Bank have worked with Giacom since 2016 and continue to support the business following the new investment. Graham Gilbert will remain as Chairman.

Giacom plans to build on the strong momentum it has generated to date by continuing to expand its network with ITCs, cross-selling more products and services across the marketplace and through strategic M&A.

This is the latest investment from the Livingbridge 6 fund and the fourth Livingbridge investment in TMT in recent months.

Commenting on the investment, Mike Wardell, Chief Executive said:

“Following a year of rapid growth which saw us double our revenues, we believe that now is the right time to secure new financial backing and accelerate our growth plans. Livingbridge’s track record of supporting other high growth businesses such as ours, combined with their experience of investing in the tech sector, means they are uniquely positioned to work with us and I am excited about our future partnership with them. I would like to thank LDC for their backing and support to date and am looking forward to the next phase of our growth strategy.”

Commenting on the investment, Matthew Caffrey, Livingbridge, said:

“We are very excited to be working with Mike and the team during the next phase of Giacom’s growth.  The business is extremely well positioned to capitalise on a significant market opportunity underpinned by SMEs increasingly migrating their applications and infrastructure into the cloud.  Giacom’s marketplace platform is well placed to continue to disrupt the market and drive growth.

 

Livingbridge today announces its investment in Manchester-based Mobysoft, a market leader in predictive software for social housing providers.

Mobysoft’s core product, RentSense, is a Software as a Service (SaaS) based predictive analytics service which delivers accurate and prioritised workload to social landlords. Using a range of data, RentSense’s algorithms present social housing officers accurate workload information, saving them time, improving efficiency in rent collection and enabling social landlords to mitigate welfare reform and reduce arrears by tens of millions of pounds a year. Mobysoft’s software is used daily by 91 social housing operators managing c.1 million properties, almost a fifth of the sector’s 5.2 million UK based properties.

Growing rent arrears is an issue for the UK’s 1,650 social housing providers with the largest 100 alone facing more than £700m of gross arrears in 2016. Rent reductions and welfare reform including Universal Credit, are adding to cost pressures in the sector and driving the need for greater efficiency.

Founded in 2003 by Derek Steele, Mobysoft has a team of 32, headquartered in Manchester. Livingbridge’s investment will enable Mobysoft to grow its UK social housing market share, increase investment in people and extend the use of predictive analytics into other areas of social housing.

Livingbridge has a strong track record in supporting software businesses and the investment in Mobysoft follows previous investments in Exclaimer, CSC, Eque2, Scriptswitch and Kirona.

Derek Steele, founder and CEO of Mobysoft, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Livingbridge. Mobysoft has grown rapidly over the last few years, as more landlords chose to deploy RentSense. This investment will enable us to bring to market other complementary software solutions, based on predictive analytics, that can help social landlords deliver further significant efficiencies. Livingbridge has strong experience in helping businesses like Mobysoft and I look forward to working with them to take us to the next stage of growth.”

Nick Holder at Livingbridge, said:

“Having known Derek and his team for a number of years now, we are delighted to partner with them.  Mobysoft already has a strong market position and great growth potential, in a sector Livingbridge knows well. With the compelling combination of sector-leading software, an entrepreneurial management team and the capital to pursue its growth ambitions, this is an incredibly exciting opportunity.”

As part of the investment Ken Briddon has been appointed as chairman at Mobysoft. Ken has worked for IT and software businesses for over 40 years, including heading up PLCs. Ken has over 16 years’ experience as the chairman or NED of private equity backed software and services businesses, successfully advising and steering them through the transition to deliver further growth and profits.

The deal was led for Livingbridge by Nick Holder, Charlie Ross and Pete Clarke out of the Manchester office.

 

 

Livingbridge today announces its investment in specialist financial markets consultancy Catalyst

Development (“Catalyst”). Founded in 1994, Catalyst provides regulatory-driven change, organisational improvement and talent development programmes to global financial markets companies. Catalyst has worked with more than 70 clients in over 30 financial centres worldwide, including nine out of the world’s top 12 investment banks, and has mentored more than 250 of the most senior figures in financial markets. Catalyst holds the UK’s highest business accolade, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise, in recognition of the firm’s global impact.

Global banks spent about $30bn on consultancy fees in 2016, up from $17bn in 2008. Client demand for Catalyst’s specialist services is significant, driven by far-reaching G20 commitments to making markets safer in the wake of the financial crisis. Catalyst’s clients are now increasingly requiring ‘specialism at scale’ to tackle large, complex programmes of transformational change.

Livingbridge’s investment will enable Catalyst to address the escalating requirements of the financial sector and grow its client base by accelerating its service development, strengthening its infrastructure, and expanding its talent development and acquisition strategy with the aim of trebling headcount.

Catalyst also intends to increase its international presence, and Livingbridge has committed to provide additional capital to pursue strategic acquisitions.

Livingbridge has supported many consultancy businesses and the investment in Catalyst follows investments in clinical service consultancy Four Eyes Insight, recruitment consultants such as The Up Group and procurement consultancy Efficio.

Commenting on the investment, Andrew Middleton, CEO at Catalyst, said:

“Since the financial crisis, there has been a growing need for expert, trusted advisors to help financial institutions navigate change. We have long-standing relationships with many of the world’s largest financial institutions and a strong reputation for excellence. Our ambition is to become Europe’s leading financial markets specialists. Working with such a respected investor as Livingbridge will enable us to build on the momentum we have already generated and accelerate our growth to establish Catalyst as the unrivalled choice for specialist financial markets consultancy.”

Paul Landsman at Livingbridge, said:

“Andrew and his team have been very successful in establishing Catalyst as a premier speciality consultancy for the financial markets and we are delighted to be working with them to help them realise the next stage in their development both through organic growth and acquisitions.  We have experience of working with high growth consultancy firms and will be looking to bring some of this experience to Catalyst as the business looks to expand its product offering and grow its team.”

 

Livingbridge, the mid-market private equity firm, has invested in Stowe Family Law LLP, the largest family law firm in the UK with 10 offices nationally including a flagship office in central London.

 

The investment will be used to fuel the growth of the firm by building a larger national footprint, opening up to 30 additional offices over the next five years, as well as building on SFL’s strong IT platform and management team.

 

 

Livingbridge believes that the law firm has enormous potential to serve more of the UK.

Daniel Smith, of Livingbridge, said:

“Stowe Family Law is a great success story. Under Marilyn’s ownership it has become the largest specialist family law firm in the UK, consistently delivering outstanding service and outcomes for its clients.  Livingbridge is delighted to have the opportunity to invest in SFL and work with the team. The business is in fantastic shape with a talented team of leaders, solicitors and staff who are at the top of their game. We look forward to working with SFL to continue delivering great client service and to grow the business further.”

Livingbridge has invested in over 100 entrepreneurial companies, particularly in consumer markets and professional services, supporting recruitment firms such as Frank Recruitment Group, Staffline and The Up Group as well as Kingsbridge, the specialist insurance broker, and Broadstone, the pensions and employee benefits provider.

This investment is the second investment from the Livingbridge 6 fund, which completed fundraising in September 2016.

Stowe Family Law was founded by Marilyn Stowe, who is best known for her market-leading client service and expert handling of all types of matrimonial disputes alongside her work freeing Sally Clark, the mother wrongly jailed for the murder of her two sons in 1999 in one of Britain’s most famous miscarriages of justice. Mrs Stowe took on the case for free and in her own time after suspecting the case against Mrs Clark was flawed.

Since it was founded over 30 years ago, the practice has acted for over 20,000 clients and built a network of 10 offices across the UK.

The deal will allow Mrs Stowe, one of the country’s top family lawyers, to explore new opportunities, using her expertise as a family lawyer and campaigner for justice as well as her reputation as a successful businesswoman.

Marilyn Stowe, founder of Stowe Family Law said:

“I will always be involved with the firm, and I am particularly thrilled it will continue to bear my name. It has been my most important ambition for this firm and its clients to thrive following my departure and I have achieved this with Livingbridge. Today also marks an incredible personal milestone for me, having built Stowe Family Law up over decades from a converted cobbler’s shop in East Leeds. The families and individuals that my fantastic team and I have helped have always been at the heart of my career. I went into the legal profession to give back to society and to fight injustice and that’s a legacy I know will be continued by all my colleagues at Stowe Family Law. I’m now very much looking forward to exploring new opportunities to use my experience to help address some of the issues that matter most to me.”

Charles Hartwell, CEO of Stowe Family Law, said:

“Thanks to Marilyn, and with the investment from Livingbridge, the future looks very strong for our firm and our clients. We have a great team, offering exceptional service in difficult cases and the investment will allow us to take our personal service to a much wider audience across the country. We will always pride ourselves on our expertise, authority and commitment to delivering straightforward advice in a professional and caring way.”