Digital media business eyes North American expansion after latest investment deal

Manchester-based digital media business, KOMI Group, has secured an additional £5.5m in growth capital investment from BGF, which will lead to further expansion in North America.

This follows a multimillion-pound investment from BGF, which was announced in November 2022.

The additional funding will allow KOMI Group to continue its growth trajectory with an enhanced focus on international expansion and strategic M&A.

This latest investment is part of a strong period of deals by BGF in the North West over the past six months. Across the North of England, BGF also reported strong momentum, investing £120m in small and mid-sized businesses in the past 12 months alone.

KOMI Group has experienced strong growth with BGF’s backing. With a mission to create the most engaged digital audiences in the world, KOMI Group has also expanded its followers from 40 million to 113 million, across 46 brands, generating 2.5 billion monthly views which amounts to more than 1.5 billion minutes watched each month.

The business has also successfully launched its new talent offering, KOMI Talent, which has grown by 130% year-on-year.

Founded in 2015, KOMI Group is led by co-founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Trotman, Group Managing Director Sam Lenehan and CFO Tom Moran.

Sam Lenehan said: “We’ve experienced a period of good growth with BGF’s support and created strong foundations to accelerate our global expansion. With renewed backing, we’ll look at US acquisitions where we can partner with agile, independent companies to drive innovation and grow more rapidly as a combined entity.

“We were attracted to BGF because of its flexible model and ability to provide follow-on funding so we can capitalise on growth opportunities. We’re energised by this investment and have a number of live opportunities ready to put the capital to work.”

Andrew Trotman said: “We pride ourselves on building high growth, digital first audiences, who are entertained by the best stories, told by the best creators. It took us six years to hit our first month with one billion views. It’s taken us only one year to double that. We’re just getting started.

“This new investment will allow us to accelerate that growth – entertaining hundreds of millions of our viewers, all around the world, every day.”

The business works across all major social media platforms, creating and curating the engaging social first content to entertain its global audience base. It also works with content creators, brands, media agencies and production houses to drive social media strategies that achieve against a business’s objectives.

“In addition, it licences expertly-curated content utilised by the world’s biggest media outlets and supporting influencers’ content generation.

Rhys Davenport led this deal and the original investment for BGF, along with investor Courtney Walker.

BGF investor, Davenport, said: “KOMI has significant potential for global growth and a track record of scaling its platform and reach organically. With a disruptive offering and innovative approach to the market, the team will look towards M&A to continue with this trajectory.”

KOMI was advised by Deloitte (Chris Graves and Rob Leonard) and Eversheds (Lizzy Tindall, James Finney, Jon Edwards and Lisa Letter). BGF was advised by Squire Patton Boggs (Matt Canipa, Andy Kirkham, Elysia Watts, Matt Flanagan-Roberts and Hayley Clarke). Mark Wasley provided FDD.

BGF is one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland.

During 2024 its North West team has invested in businesses including sports marketing business Eleven Sports Media and Elite Dynamics, a provider of software solutions to the holiday park and marina industry.

BGF also completed a successful exit from Unique X, a Manchester-based digital cinema software solutions and services provider after it secured new investment of up to $80m from Kartesia, a European provider of capital solutions for SME companies.

BGF originally backed Unique X in 2018, supporting the business through a period of significant growth, with EBITDA nearly trebling from the point of BGF’s investment to exit.

In the past six months, BGF has also continued to invest in its North West team with the appointment of Elle Swire as an investor. BGF also strengthened its Value Creation team, with the appointment of Johnathan Massey as Talent Network manager based in BGF’s Manchester office.

Barry Jackson, head of BGF in the North, said: “Over the last six months, the team has continued to demonstrate the strength of BGF’s investment model, backing businesses to achieve their growth ambitions while delivering strong returns. Our flexible, minority approach appeals to entrepreneurs looking for a partner to support their scale-up journey, which is evidenced by the quality of deals we’ve completed so far this year.”

BGF’s North West portfolio has abeen extremely active in the first half of 2024. Celerity acquired Chester-based Chilli IT to strengthen the company’s technical expertise and unlock growth opportunities. Meanwhile, Travcorp, the parent company of online tour operators Destination2 and HolidayGems, achieved the busiest day in its history in January on the back of a record-breaking 2023 with turnover of £135m alongside the highest EBITDA since it was formed in 2016.

Jackson added: “Alongside our new deal activity, the teams we back have made some remarkable achievements as they continue to drive growth, create value and innovate in their respective businesses – making a significant impact on the North West growth economy.”