Payments technology firm scoops £11.5m investment

Tevalis, a leisure and hospitality electronic point of sale (EPOS) solution provider, has secured an £11.5m investment from growth capital investor BGF.
Headquartered in Hull and with more than 800 customers across 2,000 sites, Tevalis provides EPOS solutions to help leisure and hospitality operators manage, streamline and deliver their food and beverage operations.
The Tevalis EPOS platform combines order and pay, kitchen, stock and cash management modules, with a suite of business analytics and reporting tools.
The firm works with restaurants, bars, food halls and major leisure destinations, including brands such as Village Hotels, Boxpark, EG Group, Colchester Zoo and Ben & Jerry’s.
Founded in 2005 by CEO James Cook, Tevalis has scaled organically to more than £8m worth of annual sales.
With BGF’s funding, the company has ambitions of trebling recurring revenues over the next three to five years. This will be supported by additional investment in sales and marketing, product and partners, as well as looking at potential opportunities for international expansion.
As part of the deal, Rob Caul, has been appointed as a non-executive chair following an introduction from BGF’s Talent Network.
He brings with him a wealth of experience in scaling innovative software businesses, having founded, scaled and taken Kallidus, an HR software business, through multiple rounds of PE investment.
Cook said: “It was important for us to find an investment partner who understood our sector and could take a long-term, patient view.
“We also wanted an investor who could help us scale and take the business to the next level – in BGF we have that and we are looking forward to leveraging their network over the coming months and years to support our growth.”
The deal was led by Rob Johnson and James Baker – investors in BGF’s Yorkshire and North East team.
Johnson said: “We’re excited to be investing in a high-quality technology business of scale with an ambitious growth plan.
“Operating in a fragmented market, James and the team have done an impressive job in establishing the Tevalis brand, with clear opportunities to increase market share, both at home and abroad.
“We look forward to building on the excellent relationship we’ve built with James through the deal process.”
Squire Patton Boggs (Paul Mann, Jonathan Ross, Joshua Lodge and Sarah Hardman) advised BGF. Addleshaw Goddard (Richard Hunt, Carly Gulliver, Aidan Barry) advised Tevalis.