Defence giant swoops in £25m deal for software provider

Defence technology group Qinetiq has paid £25m for Salford-based Naimuri, a software and analytics provider for the UK’s intelligence and law enforcement services.

The deal is on a cash-free, debt-free basis.

Naimuri, which is based in Salford but registered in St Helens, employs around 70 staff and is forecasting £9m in revenues and £2m of earnings for the year to the end of July.

Qinetiq said: “We will invest and build upon Naimuri’s strong capabilities in data analytics, data intelligence and agile software development to meet customer needs and drive growth in both the security and defence sectors.”

Jon Gillow, partner in Hill Dickinson’s Manchester corporate team, led on the deal alongside senior associate Katie Somerville and associate Graeme Anderson, with support from Jeff Middleton (employment), Stephen Betts (tax) and Jon Pearson-Basudev (property).

The Hill Dickinson team worked alongside Ali Boorman and Richard Double from Momentum Corporate Finance, who also acted for the sellers.