August Equity a leading UK private equity investor focused on the lower mid-market, confirms the appointment of two Investment Associates, Jess Webster and Leo Holdsworth, as part of the firm’s commitment to developing inhouse talented resource. The appointments reflect the firm’s focus on developing talent and building its own investment opportunities through its ‘adjacency model’
Higgs LLP, which August Equity backed in August 2025, today announces that it has acquired Vialex Limited, a Scottish based legal business, together with its specialist employment law arm, Navigator Employment Law Limited. The transaction establishes a new base in Edinburgh for Higgs LLP and marks a significant step in the firm’s strategic growth across
August Equity is pleased to announce the agreement to realise its investment in Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging (“Hallmarq”) through a sale to funds advised by NORD Holding to support the strategic combination of Hallmarq and OR Technology. Hallmarq is the global leader in advanced imaging systems to the veterinary sector. Since August invested in Hallmarq it
Polaris Software, the UK leader in public sector enforcement software, today announces the acquisition of Massachusetts-based Sitestream marking a bold expansion into the US public sector compliance market. Polaris Software partners with all UK police forces, enhancing their digitisation and optimisation efforts to free up public resources, increase productivity and reduce costs. This philosophy aligns seamlessly
August Equity LLP (“August”), a UK private equity firm focused on the lower mid-market, is delighted to announce the final close of Fund VI at an increased hard cap of £350 million. This is the biggest fund in the firm’s history and marks an important milestone for the manager. Fund VI has attracted a strong
As the new term begins, the familiar “back to school” feeling has started to sink in and we’ve been reflecting on how the education sector has evolved, and what the next year might bring. At August Equity, we’ve been actively investing across the education sector for more than a decade, supporting ambitious management teams to
August Equity has announced its fourth investment from Fund VI into the award-winning full-service law firm Higgs LLP (“Higgs”), partnering with the management team for the next stage of their growth. Headquartered in the Black Country and with more than 250 employees, Higgs is a leading regional law firm with a legacy stretching back 150
August Equity has today announced that it has exited its investment in leading professional services firm AAB to Goldman Sachs Alternatives, subject to regulatory approvals. The transition marks a significant milestone for AAB, reinforcing the firm’s trajectory of sustained growth while ensuring continuity for clients and further strengthening its reputation in the professional services market.
August Equity is pleased to announce its investment in Superbia. This marks the third investment from August Equity Partners VI, continuing the firm’s strategy of investing in high-quality businesses in attractive markets. August Equity has announced its investment in Superbia Holdings Limited (“Superbia”), a leading vertically integrated financial advisory group headquartered in Leicester. The investment,
August Equity announces the promotions of William Hurst to Head of Finance and Matthew Benstead to Manager We are delighted to announce the promotions of William Hurst to Head of Finance and Matthew Benstead to Manager. These well-deserved promotions reflect their outstanding contributions and continued strong performance within the business. William Hurst joined August Equity
August Equity is excited to announce further growth in the team with the addition of John Western as a Director on the Investment Team. John Western joins from Graphite Capital, having spent nearly nine years working on new investments across multiple sectors and serving on the board of several portfolio companies. At August, John will
August Equity has invested alongside management in Fargo Systems “Fargo” – a leading Transport Management System “TMS” SaaS software business specialising in containerised cargo. August will provide funding to enable the business to continue to scale internationally and expand its service lines for customers. Headquartered in Ipswich, Fargo is the market leader in TMS software for containerised
August Equity are excited to announce the continued growth of the team with Pete Lyons and Samira Aminzare joining the Investment Team and Oyinkansola Bishi taking on a newly created role in the Investor Relations team. Pete Lyons joins from Primary Capital as an Investment Director focused on new investments and portfolio. Prior to this, he
August Equity is pleased to announce its investment into Impact Futures and The Childcare Company (“Impact Futures“) alongside the existing management team. The business was established in 2016 through an MBO, led by the current Non-Executive Chairman Guy Helman, to provide apprenticeships and commercial training programs to customers in licence-to-practice healthcare end markets. Impact Futures plays a crucial
We are pleased to announce the promotions of Michael Coates and Ollie Reynolds to Manager, in recognition of their strong performances and contributions to the firm. Michael focuses on new investments and portfolio and is currently supporting with board roles on Business Systems and Hallmarq. Ollie focuses on new investments and currently provides portfolio support to StarTraq and Orbis. We are
August Equity has realised its investment in Agilio Software, an international provider of healthcare operations software, through a sale to Five Arrows and TA Associates. The investment represents a money multiple return of 9.2x. Five Arrows and TA Associates (TA) have joined forces to acquire the business which is headquartered in Sheffield and is led by Chairman, Sati
August Equity-backed StarTraq continues its expansion with the acquisition of JML Software Solutions Ltd (JML), the sole providers of Chronicle Systems – the leading provider of compliance software into Police forces for high-risk assets. Chronicle is StarTraq’s second acquisition within eight months of August’s initial investment – adding further scale and capability to the group,
August Equity are happy to announce that Sam Sinclair has joined the team as Talent Director and Harry Caro has joined the Investment Team, following on from Bethany Shiers joining as Manager earlier this year. Sam joined August Equity having spent 15 years in human capital advisory and executive search in the private equity industry. As
StarTraq expands its Local Authority software footprint through the acquisition of Farthest Gate – a leading provider of GovTech solutions to several of London’s Local Authorities. London-headquartered Farthest Gate provides software that allows local authorities to streamline the management of permits and commercial licences including for parking, shop fronts, market stalls, outdoor seating, and construction works, as
The UK B2B services sector offers a winning combination of revenue resilience and significant value creation opportunities, says August Equity partner Kishan Chotai. Kishan Chotai recently sat down with Amy Carroll of Real Deals to discuss the UK B2B services sector in a Q&A, delving into August Equity’s view of the sector and themes. Why is B2B services
August Equity has invested alongside management in StarTraq – a leading compliance software business providing solutions for offence processing, licensing & permitting. August will provide funding to enable the business to scale internationally and enter new adjacent markets. Headquartered in Oxfordshire, UK, StarTraq is the market leader in offence processing software. It has long standing relationships with
August Equity is pleased to confirm the appointment of David Lonsdale as its new Managing Partner. After nearly 15 years in the role, Philip Rattle will become Chairman of August Equity where he will focus his attention and experience on investment and portfolio related matters. Following the announcement, David and Philip both commented: For any further information regarding
August Equity has announced its investment into OneTouch. Led by founder and CEO Dermot Clancy, OneTouch is an end-to-end care management software platform that supports the management of all care delivery needs, from client and carer scheduling, HR management, incident tracking, care planning and family communications for care providers across Ireland and the UK. August’s
August Equity are very pleased to announce promotions that see Kishan Chotai become a Partner. Additionally, Sam Hardy, Katie Beckingham and Greg Walsh are being promoted to Director and Celine Henriksen to Manager. Kishan joined August Equity in 2017 from PwC. Through his promotion to Partner, Kishan will lead on our future Business and Compliance Services
August Equity is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement to realise its investment in Amtivo Group (“Amtivo”) to funds managed by Charterhouse Capital Partners LLP. Amtivo is a leading provider of accredited certification to companies across 23 countries. Since August formed Amtivo in 2018, the group has grown like-for-like revenues 15% year-on-year and has completed twelve acquisitions.
August Equity is delighted to announce that both Kate Cook and Daniel Venn have both been promoted to Partner. These promotions cap off a strong year to March 2022 for August Equity in which there were four new platform investments, 28 bolt-on acquisitions and three exits. Kate joined August Equity in 2015 following seven years at
In light of the ongoing tragedy we are witnessing in Ukraine August Equity wanted to share a note to express unequivocal support for Ukraine as a nation and its people. What we are witnessing is truly appalling. As a result of our desire to want to support those affected, August Equity is making a donation
Integrity360 and Caretower, two of the most established and respected providers of cybersecurity services today announced that they have joined forces, with Caretower becoming an Integrity360 company. For the 2021 calendar year, Caretower reported sales of circa £28m and operates from offices in London and Sofia, Bulgaria. All of Caretower’s employees will remain with the group. Combined,
August Equity has realised its investment in Zenergi through a sale to ECI Partners. The investment represents an exit for August Equity generating a return of 5.3x. Zenergi was founded in 2003 to support organisations across the UK with their energy renewals, legislation and carbon reporting, identifying ways they can reduce their energy use, and
Mickey Patel and Richard Muckle recently sat down with Tom Lyons of The Currency, a leading Irish online publisher focused on business and finance, to discuss our recent investment in Integrity360 and our plans for further investment in Ireland. Mickey Patel and Richard Muckle spoke to The Currency‘s Tom Lyons to discuss our recent acquisition of Integrity360 and our future plans on investment
August Equity has announced a significant investment in Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), the tech-enabled business critical services group, to fast-track ambitious growth plans and realise AAB’s strategic vision of becoming a key UK regional player in the accountancy and wider business services market. AAB is currently a leading Scottish regional player, with offices in Aberdeen,
August Equity are pleased to announce they have co-invested alongside CVC for a minority stake in Medivet, a leading provider of veterinary services with over 450 branches across the UK, Germany and Spain. August have a longstanding relationship with CVC and a strong record in animal health having previously founded IVC and VetPartners. With over 450 branches in the UK, Medivet is
Air IT has acquired Reading-based MFG UK Ltd (“MFG”) and Uttoxeter-based Infinity IT Solutions Limited (“Infinity”), the seventh and eighth acquisition of its buy-and-build journey. Since August Equity investment in January 2020, Air IT has made four double acquisitions, with the first pair completing in October 2020, the second in December and the third in March. Founded in Staffordshire in 2009, Infinity are award-winning
The acquisition will immediately expand upon and strengthen Amtivo’s global reach and certification services. Formed in 1992, QAICL is a leading certification body issuing internationally recognised accredited certificates to companies across a wide range of manufacturing and service industries. The company delivers its services through an established infrastructure of branch offices, subsidiaries and agents operating in
AMTIVO has announced the acquisition of EMB Group’s ACM-CCAS and Ascentor brands, in a deal that will add further to the group’s international presence and increase the range of services it can offer to its growing client base. The acquisition of ACM-CCAS gives Amtivo a scaled international UKAS certification platform with a substantial operation in China and
Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging (“Hallmarq”) has announced the appointment of Mick Crosthwaite as its new CEO. The news following shortly after Hallmarq celebrated a third Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation Category. Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging has announced the appointment of Mick Crosthwaite as Chief Executive Officer. Mick will drive the next ambitious phase of business growth, building on
August Equity has invested in Ireland’s leading cyber security specialist, Integrity360. Joining the management team is an MBI team who led SecureData, a prior investment that August Equity exited to Orange Cyberdefence in 2019, generating a 7.2x return. Integrity360 is the largest cyber security specialist in Ireland, with presence internationally including the US and UK.
Agilio Software has acquired Sheffield based MyHRtoolkit, a business providing a cloud-based HR platform to 1,250 customers, supported by a software and operations team of HR specialists. Specifically designed for small and medium sized businesses, MyHRtoolkit’s online HR software streamlines day to day HR functions with easy-to-use human resource management tools. August Equity initially invested in Agilio with the acquisition
Hallmarq has won the Queens Award for innovation, reflecting its success in designing, manufacturing, selling, installing and supporting its small animal 1.5t system. The Queens Award is an awards programme for British businesses who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promotion opportunity. They are the highest official UK award for a British business. This year
Katie Beckingham has been promoted to Manager whilst Greg Walsh, Mark Stevens and Michael Coates join the investment and portfolio teams in a financial year that has seen August Equity complete two platform investments, one exit and 28 bolt-on acquisitions. Katie joined August Equity in October 2018 having previously worked for Barclays in their UK M&A team. Over the last
Business Systems (“BSL”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired acrinax for an undisclosed consideration. Passionate about Customer Experience, acrinax delivers Contact Centre-as-a-Service (“CCaaS”) and Workforce Engagement Management (“WEM”) solutions to enable their customers’ digital transformations. The business’ mission is to support enterprise customers as they transition their contact centres to the cloud, designing, implementing, supporting,
Air IT has announced its acquisition of Concise Technologies and Infotech, bringing total number of acquisitions for the group to six in the past six months. Air IT has acquired Kent-based Infotech and Cheshire-based Concise Technologies for undisclosed considerations. Backed by August Equity, this marks the third time the IT Managed Service Provider has acquired two businesses simultaneously, the first pair
August Equity has realised its investment in Pet Cremation Services (”PCS”), the UK’s leading operator of pet crematoria through a sale to VetPartners. Based in Guilsborough, Northamptonshire, PCS operates a national network of high quality pet crematoria, providing clinical waste collection for veterinary clinics as well as delivering bereavement training for veterinary professionals. August led a growth equity investment
Orbis Education and Care (“Orbis”) announces the arrival of new CEO, Suzanne Lawrence, and fresh strategic initiatives as it looks to further increase its delivery of high quality care services. As the negative impact of the Covid pandemic rippled through the UK, Orbis joined businesses from all sectors in battening down the hatches, planning and implementing stringent
August Equity has completed the acquisition of Business Systems UK Limited (“Business Systems”), the second investment from Fund V. Business Systems is a specialist in Cloud Enterprise Communication Solutions, providing a suite of Contact Centre solutions including Call Monitoring & Compliance, Workforce Engagement Management and Contact Centre as a Service offerings to highly regulated enterprise clients. Business
Air IT has completed the acquisition of Riverbank IT Management Limited (“Riverbank”) near Oxford and Nexus GS Limited (“Nexus”) near Coventry. This follows the acquisition of London based Netstar and Birmingham based Microtrading in October. August Equity backed IT Managed Service provider, Air IT has over doubled its revenue and EBITDA throughout 2020 via four acquisitions, the latest
Little Garden Day Nurseries (“LGDN”) is a leading group of children’s nurseries located in London and the South East and focused on providing high quality childcare and education. Under August Equity ownership, the business has expanded rapidly through acquiring 4 businesses taking the group to ten sites within six months. August Equity acquired LGDN, comprising four sites,
Portfolio company Air IT supports its strong organic growth over lockdown by acquiring Netstar UK, an award winning, London based MSP and Microtrading, a Birmingham based MSP to more than double in size. August-backed IT Services provider Air IT supports SMEs (25 – 250 seats) with IT managed services, cyber security, business comms, and business intelligence. Prior
Ocean Certification (“Ocean”) has joined the British Assessment Bureau (“BAB”), providing greater coverage of the UK market and adding product certification to BAB’s existing portfolio. BAB is part of the Amtivo Group, which comprises an international arm, Certification Europe (“CE”), Equas Consulting and the certification technology business, MyActiv. Established in 2001, with a head office
We have a rich heritage of technology investing at August. It’s a high growth sector that has shown resilience through many economic cycles and the current Coronavirus crisis is no exception. Our current technology portfolio demonstrates continued growth in a time of uncertainty and reinforces why technology will continue to be a key pillar of
CODE (an August Equity investment made in November 2019) has completed the acquisition of Sheffield-based Isopharm The acquisition brings together a market leading compliance platform with the largest provider of online CPD for dental practitioners. The unity of the two businesses creates a market leader in dental compliance. Isopharm is the leading provider of online CPD
Katharine Hidalgo speaks to August Equity Partners’ managing partner, Philip Rattle, to discuss the firm’s investment strategy for its latest fund, the steps it has taken to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus crisis on its portfolio, and its exit strategy. As many firms delay their fundraising processes, August Equity Partners is in the advantageous position of
In ICAEW’s latest ‘Corporate Financier’, August Equity partners Katie Beck and Mickey Patel discuss the impact of Covid-19 on both the portfolio and M&A. a March proved to be a tipping point in the Covid-19 pandemic. By 24 March, the UK had joined Italy and other major European countries in enforcing lockdown measures. By May,
In this 30 minute webinar, Garret Turley discusses the impact of Covid-19 on the NHS and how technology, debt markets and changing consumer behaviour will impact healthcare investment in the UK as part of the ‘new normal’. View the webinar
The Easter Bank Holiday has been and gone, and with it a sense that the UK has navigated Phase 1 of COVID-19. The initial panic and dash-for-cash experienced in the first weeks of lockdown is abating to some degree. Lenders alongside the Government have continued to work through Phase 2 to bring to life promised
The Government has worked exceptionally hard to provide an unprecedented level of support to businesses impacted by COVID-19. Industry experts are sharing their views and ideas and businesses are helping businesses as everyone bands together to navigate COVID-19. In part 3 of our 4-part series, we provide an overview of some of the external assistance
In part 1 of our 4 part article, we provided an overview on internal procedures, practices and “easy wins” that are benefitting our healthcare and nursery assets. In part 2, we explore the best-practices observed when it comes to reviewing financial performance and how good relationships with lenders can help provide additional breathing space to
COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of certain industries in the UK as they step up to act as the front-line response to protecting the NHS and ensuring society can successfully hibernate through this unique period in time. The world and the economy as we know it does not look now as it did only 5
Certification Europe (CE) has joined the British Assessment Bureau (BAB), myActiv and Equas Consulting, providing greater international reach for the Amtivo Group. Established in 1999 and head officed in Dublin, CE has offices in Japan, Italy and the UK, establishing an impressive international footprint for the Amtivo Group in key markets. Its ethos of providing clients with assurance
The fund was significantly oversubscribed, with more than 40% of the committed capital coming from North America, including pension funds and endowments. AEP V will look to make ten investments into service-led businesses. The fund will invest between £15m and £40m of equity into companies making between £1-5m EBITDA. AEP V made its first investment into Air
Compliance was once seen as the boring segment of the business services market, however, more recently the sector has seen growing interest from investors, with a number of business growing to a size that is attractive to both mid-market private equity and trade buyers. August Equity has recently made two investments into the compliance services