Palatine venture credit fund lends £2m to maritime software specialist
Palatine’s Growth Credit Fund has made £2million loan to Manchester-based, high growth fintech business Voly Group, which will fund a key acquisition.
Headquartered in Cheadle, Voly’s financial management software is used across the international luxury yacht industry to manage operational expenditure and maintenance. It
provides superyacht captains, crew, owners, management companies and family offices with the ability to conduct instant global transactions, backed by transparent, real-time reporting.
The deal includes funding for Voly’s acquisition of specialist maritime payroll provider Voyonic – which adds multi-jurisdiction payroll capabilities to its Software as a Service
(SaaS) offer – as well as support for the ongoing development of its best-in-class fintech platform.
Voly was established in 2016 by former professional tennis player Ian Flanagan and has rapidly grown to become the market leading multi-asset financial management platform in
the yachting sector. It employs circa 100 staff at its HQ in Cheadle, Greater Manchester and locations across the UK and Europe. In 2021 Voly Group received private equity investment from Magenta Partners.
The Palatine Growth Credit Fund has been raised to support maturing, high growth companies in the UK regions which are seeing sustained double-digit year-on-year revenue
growth.
Ryan Sorby, Partner at Palatine Growth Credit, said: “Voly is a genuine market leader with a unique product, a highly impressive founder, and strong backing from its equity sponsors. Ian and his team have achieved very exciting growth to date and the acquisition of Voyonic adds yet more value to Voly’s best-in-class proposition.
“The Growth Credit fund was raised to address an imbalance in the availability of growth capital in the UK regions and it’s particularly pleasing that its first deal in the North is supporting such a stellar example of Manchester’s tech community. We’re excited by the potential for the Fund to be able support future growth at Voly as it continues to develop.”
Voly Group CEO, Ian Flanagan said: “With the support of the Palatine Growth Credit Fund, the acquisition and integration of Voyonic into Voly Group will create more benefits for
superyacht owners, further cementing our position as the leading management platform in the sector. We have a very clear strategy at Voly Group to create the market leading and
industry standard ERP solution in the yachting industry which will always involve building new product but we are always on the constant look for best in class solutions also that we
can buy and integrate to our growing dashboard and Voyonic is just that.”
“This acquisition is not just a business move; it’s a commitment to the future of the maritime industry, setting the stage for a new standard in payroll and crew management services. Voly Group is excited to lead this charge and continue its journey of innovation and excellence.”
“The Growth Credit Fund has provided us with genuine growth capital at a much earlier point than most traditional debt providers are willing to, providing us with the opportunity to increase value for all of our stakeholders.”
The Palatine Growth Credit Fund lends to companies in the cyber, fintech, SaaS, healthtech, medtech, AI and advanced manufacturing sectors in the burgeoning technology ecosystems of the North, Midlands, South West, and the South East.
The fund sits alongside sustainably-driven investor Palatine’s established Buyout and Impact private equity funds.
Palatine Growth Credit was advised by Shoosmiths.
