NorthEdge Capital commit to investment in Lancashire's Utiligroup

Private equity firm NorthEdge Capital has committed to invest in Utiligroup, a Lancashire-baseddata management software and services company, pending approval from parentcompany Bglobal plc’s shareholders.

The Chorley-based business, provides data management software and services to the energy sector and employs 88 staff.

Following a strategic review, Matthew Hirst, Utiligroup CEO, and Andrew Green, COO, are leading the MBO of the business.

The investment from NorthEdge will facilitate the acceleration of new software development work and allow the business tocapitalise on opportunities in the market, continuing to provide the highest quality support to customers.

Steve Gosling will join as chief financial officer and Martin Evans (an original founder of the business) as Strategy director.

The deal was led by NorthEdge partner Ray Stenton, Director Jon Pickering and Investment Executive, George Potts. Jon will join the Board as a Non-Executive Director, while George will join as an Observer.

Matthew Hirst, CEO of Utiligroup, said: “Utiligroup has experienced strong growth and we have established ourselves as a market leading player in helping energy and utility companies to operate more efficient processes through a combination of automated software and managed services.

“We are committed to placing our customers at the heart of what we do and guiding them through the unique challenges that the industry is currently facing. Changing customer behaviour and new regulations are driving evolution of the energy market, and Utiligroup is uniquely placed to support customers through these changes with the provision of advanced solutions and services.”

He continued: “NorthEdge’s support and experience will be invaluable as we embark on our next phase of growth and will enable us to accelerate the new developments that will be required by our customers. We are delighted to beworking with such a dedicated team.”

Jon Pickering, director at NorthEdge Capital, added: “Utiligroup is a leading provider of mission critical software and services. It is relied upon to continually innovate and provide expert support to a range of customers, from the ‘Big 6’ to exciting new entrants and growing energy suppliers.

“As a market leader the business leverages considerable in-house software development capabilities to build strong relationships with its customers.

“We expect tosecure shareholder approval by 18 June and look forward to working alongside the management team to support their growth plans.”

The deal is the fifth transaction by NorthEdge Capital from its maiden fund, which closed at £225 million in March 2013. The firm’s previous investment was a £25.5million investment into Fine Industries, the Teesside-based chemicals manufacturer, a deal completed in just eight weeks.

Seneca Partners (Gordon Lane & Andrew Stubbs) are advising NorthEdge Capital; KPMG (Jonathan Boyers & Alex Hartley) are advising Bglobal plc. DWF (Jonathan Robinson& Vicky Ross) are providing NorthEdge with legal advice while management are being advised by Fieldfisher (Matthew Fleetwood & Mo Wang). Financial Due Diligence was completed by BDO (Chris Heatlie, Sarah Cumming & Matthew Molyneux) and Commercial Due Diligence by Credo (Simon Bones & Alex Foulds).