Houlihan Lokey Advises Focus Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Focus Group, a portfolio company of Bowmark Capital, has received a significant investment from Hg, a leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. This partnership will support Focus Group’s continued growth in the U.K.

Founded in 2003 by Ralph Gilbert and Chris Goodman in Brighton and Hove, U.K., Focus Group provides digital workplace solutions to c. 30,000 SME customers. The company offers a single point of contact for the information technology needs of these clients, providing communications and software solutions, connectivity, and value-added IT services.

Hg’s investment will support Focus Group’s organic growth plan, M&A ambitions, and product development initiatives, enhancing its ability to deliver innovative solutions for the U.K. SME market. Hg has made more than a dozen investments in SME tech services over two decades, and this depth of expertise will support a valuable partnership for future growth.

Ralph Gilbert, co-founder of Focus Group, said: “Hg have demonstrated their ability to create value using their extensive experience in backing companies who sell business services to SMEs. They show a deep understanding of how to maximise and accelerate growth using data and AI; this has resonated with us as we already have sector-leading data on which we are excited to capitalise. Alongside this, we found that we have well-aligned views of the future of the ICT industry, both in terms of product and future M&A opportunities. We are very excited as to what the future holds in partnership with Hg.”

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Focus Group and Bowmark Capital, marketing and negotiating the transaction on their behalf and also running a lender education process with global debt providers.