Daisy founder involved in £124m exit deal following sale of Damovo Group

Lancashire entrepreneur Matt Riley is part of a £124m exit deal following the sale of Damovo Group, announced today.

Oakley Capital Private Equity II has agreed to sell its stake in Damovo Group, a leading independent European unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) company, to UK Atlanta Holdings.

The deal values Damovo at £124m.

Mr Riley, founder of Nelson-based digital specialist Daisy Group, and Oakley, acquired Damovo in 2015 for £10.6m.

Since then the firm hit the acquisition trail, buying rivals in Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Oakley said under its ownership Damovo has been transformed into a recognised European specialist in delivering and managing critical UC&C solutions for enterprise and public-sector organisations.

The business has returned to organic growth by winning and delivering large, multi-year managed services contracts, and this has been supported by the integration of three strategic acquisitions.

This growth, as well as a more efficient group structure put in place by the experienced management team, has led to the business more than doubling EBITDA since Oakley’s initial investment.

The UK arm of Damovo was sold to Daisy in 2016.

David Till, senior partner at Oakley Capital Private Equity, said: “We would like to thank Matthew Riley, Glen Williams, Stuart Hall and the team for their tireless work in transforming the business over the past three years.

“Damovo is now a very well-respected and competitive player in the growing European market.

“It has the highest levels of vendor accreditation and has won a number of awards for its excellent customer service.

“We are proud of the part we have played in its evolution, with the business ideally positioned for its next phase.”

Mr Riley, executive chairman of Damovo, and the current management team will leave the business after the deal is closed.

A team from EY’s Manchester office, led by Richard Harding and Olivier Wolf, carried out vendor due diligence services for Damovo.