Data business secures £42m investment deal
Pricoa Capital has invested £42m in Sutton Coldfield-based 118 Group to fund the next phase of growth for the data services business.
The business database owner was set up in 2008 by joint chief executives Paul Spinks and Patrick Bradshaw, who will maintain significant stakes in the business.
Bradshaw believes the deal will allow the group to “fulfill the next stage in its growth trajectory”.
He said: “Early on we spotted the potential for licensing good quality business data, underpinned by a commitment to accuracy that has propelled the growth of the company into the success it is today.
“We have now become a critical part of the infrastructure that underpins business searches on the internet.
“Our company has experienced exceptional growth over the past few years enabling us to partner with a blue-chip organisation such as Pricoa.”
Pricoa is Prudential Financial’s risk capital investment division and its investment comprised senior debt, a senior accordion, subordinated notes and preferred equity.
118 Group said the transaction provided shareholder liquidity and “enables greater ownership of the group to be in the hands of the extended management team who will continue to drive the business forward”.
The group supplies information under license to credit reference agencies, mapping companies and every major search engine. It also operates a B2B marketing division, trading as Market Location.
Co-founder Spinks added: “In an increasingly digital world the secret to our success has been rigorous commitment to the checking and rechecking of data, which involves 10,000 validation phone calls every day to UK businesses.
“Over the years we have created a unique database which maps almost the entire universe of UK businesses. The advent of mobile technology and explosion of ‘near me’ searches have seen the need for pin point accurate geo-location data increase exponentially – the world has come a long way from business directories and we are providing the data to fuel that change.”
