UK lower mid-market investor, Tenzing, today announces its investment in Converge-IT.Net Ltd (‘Converge TS’), the specialist provider of managed and hosted IT services to the UK legal sector.
Founded in 2006 by MD Nigel Wright, Converge TS [1] is a specialist provider of hosted and managed IT services through private cloud. It provides mission critical managed cloud services to the UK legal sector including Infrastructure as a Service, Hosting, Business Continuity as well as other managed IT and infrastructure services.
Converge TS differentiates itself in the legal sector via a deep knowledge of legal IT infrastructure requirements and the applications used by law firms together with an understanding of clients’ compliance and security priorities. Clients are increasingly hosting their systems off-site to enable flexible working, eliminate investment in hardware and bolster security against cybercrime with robust IT solutions.
Converge TS has achieved exceptional organic growth – over 50% revenue growth year on year in the last three years – through new client wins and an increased demand for services from its existing client base. Converge TS works closely with software application vendors and is a key hosting partner for LexisNexis and a Thomson Reuters Elite Alliance Partner.
Tenzing has backed the incumbent senior management team, led by founder MD Nigel Wright and Technical Director, Andrew Taylor. The Tenzing team and its Entrepreneurs Panel will support the company with product development whilst supporting a continued investment in sales and developing its acquisition and international strategy.
Guy Gillon, co-Founder and joint Managing Partner at Tenzing, commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have completed our investment in Converge TS at an exciting time in the company’s development. Nigel, Andrew and their team are ambitious for future growth both here in the UK and in international markets. We’re very much looking forward to supporting them on this next stage of the Converge TS journey.”
Nigel Wright, Founder and MD of Converge TS said: “We are passionate about how we have grown Converge TS and are ambitious for the future of our business, and we feel Tenzing mirrors this vision. Our strategy is based on a sustained quality service delivery which underpins our sector specific cloud solutions. Our goal is to become the No. 1 cloud provider to the UK legal sector within the next few years, achieved mainly by organic growth but also by selected strategic acquisitions. Beyond that we will be looking to broaden our portfolio offering and will be exploring international opportunities. The investment from Tenzing and support from Guy, Rob and the team, with input from their Entrepreneurs Panel, is going to accelerate the pace of growth at Converge TS and we’re excited about the future.”
Rob Jones led the investment in Converge TS on behalf of Tenzing, supported by Milan Kellner and Natalia Mann. Rob and Guy Gillon will be joining the Board post completion. Tenzing was advised on the investment by BDO (Corporate Finance & Transaction Services), CIL, Osborne Clarke, Intuitus, Continuum and Deloitte Tax. Converge TS was advised by Clearwater CF International, Ward Hadaway and CLB Coopers.
The buyout of Converge TS marks Tenzing’s second investment from its maiden £200m fund and underlines Tenzing’s commitment to supporting buyouts of high growth independent market leaders and backing high energy, driven management teams and founders to accelerate their growth in the UK lower mid-market.