# HgCapital Trust plc invests £21.3 million in UK’s Focus Group for SME technology solutions

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/hgcapital-trust-plc-invests-21.3-million-in-uks-focus-group-for-sme-technology-solutions/4121151522
- Published: 2024-04-15T08:03:31+01:00
- Author: Amilia Stone

Hg, the Manager of **HgCapital Trust plc **(LON:HGT), has announced an investment
in Focus Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of essential business technology
to SMEs.

HgT will invest approximately £21.3 million in Focus Group, with other institutional
clients of Hg investing alongside HgT through the Hg Genesis 10 Fund.

_Note that these figures only relate to HgT’s share of Hg’s overall investment in
Focus Group._

HgT’s liquid resources available for future deployment (including all announced 
transactions, the undrawn bank facility and the full year dividend payable in May
2024) are estimated to be £670 million (29% of the estimated 29 February 2024 NAV
of £2.3 billion).

The investment will reduce HgT’s outstanding commitments to invest in Hg transactions
to approximately £927 million (40% of the estimated 29 February 2024 NAV).

HgT will announce its Q1 results in May 2024.

Founded in 2003 by Ralph Gilbert and Chris Goodman in Brighton & Hove, UK, Focus
Group provides digital workplace solutions to around 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.

> **Chris Goodman, co-founder of Focus Group, said:** “Having enjoyed four fantastic
> years with our previous investor Bowmark, we are thrilled to now be partnering
> with Hg.  Not only do they recognise the commercial opportunity that lies ahead
> and the capability of the team, but they also understand that it is the culture
> that we’ve built at Focus over the past 20 years that is the foundation of our
> success.  This is the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for the business
> and our incredible team.”

> **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.”

HgCapital Trust’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 UK SME sector. 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.

**Nick Jordan and Joris Van Gool, Partners at Hg, said:** “The long-term trends 
in small business technology adoption offers Focus a great opportunity to continue
its impressive growth trajectory by offering a one-stop-shop for ICT for UK SMEs.
In partnering with the Focus leadership and close to 1,000 exceptional colleagues
we are excited about the opportunity to build a national champion in this industry.”

> **Conor Stewart, Principal at Hg, added:** “We are delighted to partner with Chris,
> Ralph and the rest of the Focus management for the next stage of Focus’s journey–
> we’ve been impressed by the teams’ vision, commitment and ambition for future 
> growth.”

Focus and Bowmark were advised by Houlihan Lokey, Osborne Clarke and PwC. Hg was
advised by Arma Partners, Linklaters and EY

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