We recently signed four tech deals in just two weeks.
For technology and software business owners (and advisors), this will be very welcome news given the recent rhetoric on technology business woes.
What I can say with certainty is that our recent deals tell us that technology M&A is alive and well in the UK.
‘I became a first-time founder in my 50s – and never looked back’
Here are the four tech deals we did:
1. Advised sport technology platform Urban Zoo on its investment from BGF. BGF completed a £20m investment in Urban Zoo to support the development of its proprietary technology and enable the company to capitalise on the significant growth potential across international markets, particularly in North America.
2. Advised Datel, who are the UK’s largest and longest-established Sage business partner, on the sale of the business to Evergreen’s Pine Services Group in the US.
3. Advised PropTech company Street Group – which is founded and led by siblings and co-CEOs Tom and Heather Staff – on its investment by Hg. Street Group is a leading provider of vertical software and AI to the UK residential property sector and Hg’s investment valued the company at more than £200m.
4. The fourth deal is a buy-side deal that signed a week or so ago but will take another week or so before we announce completion.
We’re also working on a number of other tech deals.
Maybe more interesting is that technology is attracting multiple different buyers from pure software investors (Hg) and regional growth funds (BGF) to international strategics (Pine).
It is also fairly obvious that specialisation is what is demanding a premium at present – all three companies are deeply vertical specialists with defensible positions in their niches.
We’re seeing buyers be very deliberate about what they’re acquiring, but when they find the right business, they move fast and they commit serious capital.
The businesses achieving premium outcomes are the ones that prepare properly.
Compelling equity story, robust technology stack, clear growth strategy, strong KPIs, and a strong AI argument (defensibility against and opportunity with).
When a tech business gets those fundamentals right, the outcomes reflect that quality.
If you’re a tech business owner thinking about your future – serious opportunities for businesses like yours are back.