How Series A funding helped Force 24 become Growth Company of the Year
Investment partner at YFM Equity Partners (YFM), Mike Clarke, outlines how its funding, just under a year ago, has helped support marketing automation platform Force24 that was named Growth Company of the Year in the recent Leeds Digital Festival Awards.
Clarke, who is a member of the board at Leeds-headquartered Force24, explains how the private equity firm’s £4.8m investment in November 2020 has helped drive the company’s ambitious plans to rapidly scale up. Its outstanding performance over the last year has resulted in recognition at the prestigious Leeds Digital Festival Awards last month which celebrate the organisations and individuals driving the city’s vibrant digital and tech industry.
Led by the founders, CEO Adam Oldfield and commercial director Nick Washbourne, Force24 is a SaaS-based marketing automation platform that allows marketers to deliver personalised marketing campaigns harnessing a multitude of native Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integrations.
YFM has a strong track record growing tech businesses, and this combined with the region’s strength in the sector, means that the private equity house is actively seeking other SaaS business which have the potential to be the next Growth Company of the Year.
Clarke comments: “With our proven portfolio experience of supporting the scale up of SaaS businesses, we immediately saw Force24’s potential and knew we had the skillset to help drive its rapid growth trajectory.
“The business recently reported another impressive performance with turnover growing to almost £3.5m in its latest financial results. Since our investment, there has also been a 120% increase in employees, including a number of senior hires who will further strengthen the management team. The customer base has also grown by 33% with the addition of more than 100 new and Force24 delivered over 900m marketing emails in the last year alone.
YFM, which has offices in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Reading, has over 30 years of experience in backing fast-growing businesses. The firm seeks to unlock value and growth potential by providing up to £10 million of equity to fuel the development of established business throughout the UK regions. Its funding helps grow niche businesses, launch new initiatives, make transformative acquisitions and upgrade technologies and systems.
“It’s extremely satisfying to see that, with our backing, Force24 is already well on its way to achieving market-leading SaaS metrics in both revenue growth and customer retention, and also to see its success recognised with this prestigious award. With the pandemic having accelerated the digital transformation and Leeds establishing itself as a hotbed for tech talent and innovation, there is currently huge opportunity for growth, with the support of the right partner. As a result, we are currently hunting for the next Force24,” he added.
YFM is dedicated to working alongside management teams to create long-term value for its investors and the companies in which it invests as well as having a positive impact on people, society, the economy and the environment. The firm manages funds in excess of £300 million which include venture capital trusts and private equity funds. It has a national portfolio of software and tech businesses, including data transformation software company Matillion in Manchester; Springboard in Milton Keynes which provides footfall data to the retail industry; and global e-learning platform Elucidat, based in Brighton.
