News 2015
Azini Capital acquires interest in ATTRAQT
Azini Capital, the London based private equity firm that specialises in replacement and growth capital, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a significant shareholding and has led a round of investment in ATTRAQT Group plc (‘ATTRAQT’), a leading provider of eCommerce visual merchandising, site search and product recommendation technology to online retailers.
Listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, ATTRAQT (LON:ATQT) is an innovator and world leader in online visual merchandising tools that help retailers deliver a step change in their conversion rate, and drive online sale success.
Azini acquired interests from co-founder and Chairman Dan Wagner and a number of the early investors in the business and also led a £3.3 million funding round. The additional capital will be applied to accelerate ATTRAQT’s market and product development – in particular to support the company’s growth prospects in the exciting North American market, which presents a huge opportunity for ATTRAQT.
Following completion of the transaction, which is conditional upon the passing of certain resolutions at ATTRAQT’s general meeting, Azini 3 LLP, a fund managed by Azini Capital, will own a 32.12% shareholding in the business and Nick Habgood, founder and Managing Partner of Azini Capital, will join the company’s board of directors.
ATTRAQT is the most recent investment from Azini’s third fund, which is backed by Lexington Partners, the world’s largest independent manager of secondary private equity funds with over $33 billion in committed capital.
The company was advised by N+1 Singer.
About ATTRAQT
ATTRAQT launched its merchandising platform Freestyle Merchandising in 2009 which included product recommendations, site search and visual merchandising. The client base has now grown to over 110 clients, including Tesco Clothing (part of Tesco Plc (LSE: TSCO)), boohoo.com (LSE: BOO), Bonmarché (LSE: BON)and Superdry (LSE: SGP). The Company has market presence in Western Europe and the US with offices in London and Chicago.
About visual merchandising
The order and way in which products are displayed online can increase sales by over 500%.
ATTRAQT allows visual merchandisers to exploit their merchandising skills online to control the look and feel of their web site - controlling product placement according to multiple criteria including, for example, newness to site, stock levels, popularity and profit margin.
Keronite secures AS9100C Certification
Advanced surface solutions company Keronite is celebrating after securing AS9100 version C (AS9100C) certification at its Haverhill manufacturing facility.
AS9100C is the international standardised quality management system for the aerospace industry and compliance with the standard is a condition of doing business with most of the aerospace manufacturers and suppliers around the world.
Matt Hamblin, chief executive of Keronite, said: “I’m delighted for everyone at Haverhill that we’ve secured AS9100C after a stringent, four-day audit.”
“The certification is a key requirement for working with aerospace manufacturers and further demonstrates our commitment to supporting this important market.”
“At Keronite, we’re excited by the potential our unique technology offers aerospace manufacturers looking to improve mechanical and environmental performance of their components and, while we’re already working with a range of aerospace OEMs, the fact we now have this certification means they can have even more confidence in our ability to deliver and meet the exacting standards they require.” Keronite now aims to secure AS9100C certification for its US manufacturing facility in Greenwood Indiana later this year.
Azini Capital acquires ClusterSeven
Azini Capital, the London based private equity firm that specialises in replacement and growth capital, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of End User Computing risk management solutions company ClusterSeven and will be looking to invest in the business to accelerate market and product development.
ClusterSeven is the most recent investment from Azini’s third fund, which is backed by Lexington Partners, the world’s largest independent manager of secondary private equity funds with over $33 billion in committed capital.
Surveys by auditors and analysts repeatedly show that the vast majority of businesses are dependent on spreadsheets to deliver business critical information into financial accounts, the public markets and to Regulators. Errors and anomalies in spreadsheets, and other End User Computing (EUC) applications, is a growing problem with dire consequences in terms of perception, trust and reputation. Driven in part by Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) regulations, model risk management is increasingly a “hot topic” for regulators, auditors, financial institutions and large publicly-listed enterprises. ClusterSeven offers a unique suite of software products for the validation, analysis and control of business-critical spreadsheets and similar end-user applications and databases.
Nick Habgood of Azini Capital said “We are very excited to acquire ClusterSeven; we believe the company is extremely well placed to help its customers address the growing regulatory requirement and to manage the risks inherent with the use of spreadsheets and other End User Computing applications. We’re looking forward to working alongside the team at ClusterSeven to better support its customers, further develop their market penetration worldwide as well as to bring new exciting SaaS products to market.”
Ralph Baxter, CEO and founder of ClusterSeven, said: “We are very pleased to move to the next stage of our development in partnership with Azini Capital. This investment is great news for our clients as it will enable us to further develop our solutions and improve awareness in the market of the best practices we have built together. Businesses are increasingly focused on the quality of information delivered to all their executives, clients, auditors and regulators. That means knowing what is happening in your spreadsheets.”
About ClusterSeven
London-based ClusterSeven has developed a range of market-leading software products that provide oversight and transparency of a firm’s spreadsheets, user-built databases and modelling tools. The business saw record growth in 2014 reflecting the increasing importance of its solutions as institutions seek to improve the accuracy and guardianship of their data. Its solutions help firms to balance their governance, risk and regulatory compliance (GRC) obligations with the need for innovation and productivity. ClusterSeven provides non-invasive, passive monitoring and tracking of spreadsheets down to the level of individual cells. The firm’s clients include many leading global companies; a third of the world’s top 30 banks as well as leading insurers, investment managers, energy firms and manufacturers. www.clusterseven.com
Azini acquires interest in 1Spatial
Azini Capital, a private equity firm that specialises in replacement and growth capital, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 11% interest in the global geospatial software and solutions company 1Spatial.
1Spatial is the most recent investment from Azini’s third fund. Announced in September 2014, Azini 3 is backed by Lexington Partners, the largest independent manager of secondary acquisition funds. On 20th April 2015 Lexington announced the final close of their eighth fund with commitments of $10.1 billion.
Geospatial data - information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or man-made features - is underpinning an increasing number of applications, from navigation and mobile location based services to infrastructure management and defence. With data volumes and complexity growing exponentially it is becoming increasingly important to automate the collection, validation and on-going management of this geospatial data – an area where 1Spatial offers World leading solutions
Nick Habgood of Azini Capital said “1Spatial is well positioned to deliver strong, profitable growth in the coming years. The geospatial data market is much larger than we had originally appreciated and 1Spatial offers compelling and differentiated solutions underpinned by world-leading expertise”.
Marcus Hanke, Chief Executive Officer of 1Spatial, commented: “We're extremely pleased to welcome an investor of Azini’s calibre as a shareholder; a significant vote of confidence in our evolving business model as we apply our core technology to broader markets. As a specialist technology investor, the Board welcomes Azini and looks forward to the future with confidence.”
About 1Spatial
1Spatial’s products help the users and creators of the largest geospatial databases to collect, manage, plan, maintain, publish and interpret location-specific information.
The company’s clients include National Mapping Agencies, Land Registries, utility and telecommunications companies, and government departments including emergency services, defence and census bureaus.
1Spatial (SPA.L) is listed on the AIM section of the London Stock Exchange.
Azini Capital has moved to a new address
Azini Capital Partners has moved to new offices at:
10 Argyll Street,
London,
W1F 7TQ
Quick win for Azini’s new fund
Takeover delivers 1.75x return in a few weeks for Azini’s new fund
Azini Capital has completed its second investment from the Azini 3 fund by acquiring a 7.1% stake in Incadea plc. However, just weeks after completing the investment, the board of Incadea has announced, and Azini have accepted, a recommended cash offer from NASDAQ listed DealerTrack Technologies, Inc. at a price of 190p per share.
Nick Habgood of Azini Capital commented; “Incadea is a really nice company with excellent growth potential. We had been looking forward to working with the management and the board, over a number of years, to help realise the full potential and value of the business. However it seems that we were not the only people to spot the company’s potential.” He continued; “We feel that Incadea had more upside potential but delivering a 1.75x return for our investors over just a few short weeks is a positive result in the first year of the fund.”
Incadea is the second investment in Azini Capital’s third fund which was raised in 2014. The mandate of the Azini 3 fund is to provide an early liquidity option for historical investors and shareholders in illiquid private and small cap public companies. Azini acquires significant minority stakes as well as providing additional fresh funding to accelerate the portfolio company’s growth and ultimate value.
Listed on London Stock Exchange AIM market in 2012, Incadea is a leading provider of enterprise software solutions and services to the global automotive retail and wholesale market and is the vendor of choice for car manufacturers and their dealer networks around the world. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, and with a presence in 87 countries, Incadea serves a growing community of approximately 70,000 end users across the globe, and supports more than 2,400 dealerships of market-leading car manufacturers.