News
12 Sep 2023
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 well as the processing of parking and environmental fines. The business currently services eight London-based councils. August provided follow-on funding to enable the transformational acquisition, which doubles the size of the business within four months of August’s initial investment.
August invested in StarTraq in May 2023. StarTraq is a leading compliance software business providing solutions for offence processing, licensing & permitting, focussed on the police and local authority market.
The combination of Farthest Gate and StarTraq creates a leading compliance software group with a diversified public sector customer base across police forces and local authorities in the UK and internationally. Peter Spanos and Simon Meyer, who co-founded Farthest Gate, will be re-investing and remain with the group.
I am pleased to be working with August and the StarTraq team as I embark on my plural career. The plan to grow StarTraq organically and acquisitively has many similarities to businesses I have grown in the past and I look forward to supporting the management team as they grow.
Gordon Wilson - Chair at StarTraq
We are delighted to be backing the StarTraq team, an exciting cloud software platform investment for us to scale and build an international software business with a focus on traffic, offence management and adjacent software solutions.
Mickey Patel - Partner at August Equity
Farthest Gate started looking for investors at the start of the year to enable us to continue to grow our product range and client base and to help us diversify into new markets. August and StarTraq were the standout proposition from the offset as they shared our vision of how public sector services should be delivered and have demonstrated their close understanding of the marketplace and offered us a very people and client focused investment structure. The team August are assembling around StarTraq is exemplary and in conversations with Gordon I know that he will help drive us forward. The cross fertilisation of skills and opportunities between the companies, the products, our clients and the teams is very exciting and the Farthest Gate management are very excited about the next few years.
Peter Spanos - CEO at Farthest Gate
The investments in StarTraq and Farthest Gate are examples of August executing on its proprietary origination plan, building scale rapidly through our well honed organic and inorganic playbook.
David Lonsdale - Managing Partner at August Equity
Over the last 12 months we are proud to have invested in three platforms and completed 28 bolt ons.
The team at August was led by Mickey Patel and Greg Walsh, with support from Ollie Reynolds.