Online social care company sold to private equity-backed group
Birmingham-headquartered Antser Group, the social care company, has sold subsidiary The Signis Group to August Equity-backed company, One Touch.
The Signis Group, which operates under the brand name tri.x, provides online adult and children’s social care, working with Local Authorities across England. It has been part of Antser Group since it was acquired in 2019.
Antser Group received an £8.5m investment from BGF in 2021 to support its long-term growth plans.
Following the exit of its investment in The Signis Group, BGF will retain its investment in Antser.
Richard Dooner, CEO of Antser Holdings, said: “tri.x has been a key part of our growth trajectory since 2019 and we are proud to have offered the support it needed to achieve partnerships with close to 100% of Local Authorities in England. We have no doubt that tri.x’s collaboration with OneTouch will bring about another exciting chapter for both parties and wish them every success in the future.
“Antser Group is a key provider within the social care sector and the team has worked hard to pioneer the development and implementation of innovative and technology-led solutions to deliver better outcomes across the health, social care and education sectors. We look forward to building on this heritage as we continue to work alongside our investment partner BGF.”
Nick Holder, investor at BGF, said: “Richard and the team at Antser have done a tremendous job in growing tri.x into a market leading business. Their customer focused approach and dedication towards social care outcomes is a golden thread that runs through the group. BGF is looking forward to further supporting Antser in their next stage of growth, as they continue building and delivering innovative solutions to health, social care, education and beyond.
“We have worked in partnership with Anster Group over the last 12 months to support its market share expansion in existing and adjacent markets. During this time the company has continued to perform well, and we are excited about the vast opportunities for growth in the future.”
Antser was founded by Jim Cockburn and Ayyab Cockburn and remains a member of their network of companies, the Martin James Network (MJN).
MJN co-founders Jim and Ayyab Cockburn, said: “We are proud to have witnessed the rapid growth of tri.x during its journey and time within Antser and are truly excited for its next chapter and partnership with OneTouch. We believe that their collaboration will drive further innovation to the care sector, benefiting those working in and being supported by social care services across the UK.”
Christian Dubé and Katie Beckingham, of August Equity, added: “We are delighted to have invested in OneTouch and tri.x, bringing together two unique and valuable businesses in the care sector, at a time when digitisation and technology is at the forefront of care delivery. At August, we have a long history of investing in social care businesses and understand the challenges faced by the sector and the benefit that a truly end-to-end care management and compliance platform can bring to care providers. We look forward to working with the OneTouch team to continue the strong growth of the business to date.”
Antser Group were advised by Cooper Parry Corporate Finance, Mills & Reeve (legals) and PwC (tax structuring). BGF were advised by Shoosmiths (legals).
