BGF hits £50m investment mark for Yorkshire
Growth capital investor BGF has reported strong momentum in Yorkshire and the North East, deploying £50m of investment since December 2022.
Investments have been made across technology, legal services and housebuilding, with businesses in Sheffield, Leeds, Harrogate, Wetherby, Newcastle, Gateshead and York all benefiting from BGF’s backing.
Deals have included a £10m growth capital investment in family-owned housebuilder Newett Homes and £13.75m into Leeds-headquartered audio visual (AV) and event technology specialist Blue-i Group.
BGF also backed Sheffield-based Tribepad, a leading talent acquisition software provider with a £12m investment. Its software is used by over 125 in-house talent acquisition teams at organisations including Tesco, the BBC, Subway and NHS Professionals.
More recently BGF announced a £3.25m investment in Harrogate-headquartered IDR Law, which is the only UK law firm to specialise solely in the resolution of contentious wills, probate and trust disputes to expand its office network to the Midlands, North East and London.
In the North East, BGF invested £4.2m into Recite Me, a website accessibility software business based in Gateshead. Recite Me’s technology has provided support to more than 5.4 million users across the UK, US and Australia over the last 12 months and the investment will support further international expansion.
Global technology consultancy Hedgehog Lab in Newcastle also secured a £6.3 million investment from BGF. As part of the deal, Hedgehog Lab has announced the acquisition of York-based digital product consultancy Netsells which almost doubled the size of the business.
Barry Jackson, head of BGF in Yorkshire and the North East said: “We’ve had an excellent start to the year. BGF was set up in a downturn to support entrepreneurs to realise their ambitions for growth and we’re proud to continue to back so many businesses who see opportunity even in today’s challenging market. We believe our mission is more important than ever. The deals we’ve done this year demonstrate the strength and resilience of the region and we look forward to partnering with more business owners to meet their goals.”
