Advanced [1] has announced it has secured an investment from funds advised by BC Partners [2], a leading international private equity firm.
The funds from BC Partners will support Advanced’s rapid growth aspirations to become the number-one provider of business software solutions in the UK, whilst expanding its global footprint.
Vista Equity Partners [3], a leading investment firm focused on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses who acquired Advanced in 2015, will continue as an investor, partnering with BC Partners and the Advanced team to accelerate adoption of the company’s cloud-based ERP, vertical market and application modernisation software solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
This investment comes after a period of rapid growth and transformation for Advanced, the UK’s third largest software and services company. Since 2015, the company has realigned its structure and successfully recruited more than 900 new hires across three regional hubs.
More recently, Advanced has launched 14 cloud-based SaaS solutions and completed six acquisitions, further extending its offerings to UK mid-market organisations in the public, private and third sectors.
“This investment is an exciting development for Advanced,” said Gordon Wilson, CEO, Advanced. “Today’s business leaders are under constant pressure to innovate, in order to sustain a competitive advantage.
“Vista and BC Partners share our vision for the future and will work to support our growth, benefitting our customers through continued improvement of our cloud-based software solutions and extending our offering through M&A and further innovation.”
Going forward, Advanced will benefit from two committed investment partners with complementary areas of expertise. Vista’s experience growing world-class software companies, with BC Partners’ extensive cross-sector experience and local market expertise across Europe, will support continued long-term growth through strategic acquisitions and investments in product innovation across the company’s solutions.
Nikos Stathopoulos, Partner at BC Partners, said: “Advanced has the hallmarks we look for in our investments – a market leader in a growing sector, with a strong management team and multiple levers for growth, both organic and by acquisition. We are pleased to partner with Vista and the Advanced leadership team to drive even more success for this high-quality business.”
Philipp Schwalber, lead deal Partner at BC Partners, added: “We see significant, long-term potential to build on what Advanced has accomplished over the past four years, including its strong track record providing mission-critical ERP, vertical market and application modernization software solutions to its over 19,000 customers.”
Robert F Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, said: “Since 2015, we have worked closely with Gordon and the Advanced team to transform the company into a leader in business software solutions. We are proud of the success the company has achieved and we are thrilled to have BC Partners join as an investment partner as we look forward to the company’s next phase of growth.”