[July 2014]
HgCapital has announced the acquisition of Sequel Business Solutions (“Sequel”), a leading software and services provider to the Lloyd’s of London and broader London insurance market, in partnership with the Sequel management team led by Managing Director, Mario Garcia. Sequel’s management team will retain a significant interest in the business. The investment was made from HgCapital’s Mercury Fund which focuses on growth buyouts in the software and wider technology sector in Europe. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“CloudOrigin are privileged to have advised HgCapital once again on this hotly contested deal which demonstrates their ongoing commitment to the FinTech sector in Europe and the resurgent interest across the market for innovative insurance technology providers” stated Richard Hall, CloudOrigin CEO who led the IT and Operational due diligence for this transaction.
Sequel was founded in 1993 and has since grown to become one of the leading insurance and reinsurance software specialists in the UK. Sequel has an attractive customer base, comprised of some of the leading, most highly respected companies in the Commercial Insurance space, who rely on Sequel’s core platform, Eclipse, to run and optimise their operations.
This investment is HgCapital’s fourth investment in the financial services technology space over the past twelve months, following Intelliflo (SaaS platform for financial advisers, acquired July 2013), Relay Software (software to insurance brokers, underwriters and insurers in the Republic of Ireland, acquired February 2014) and Ullink (global provider of financial trading software solutions and services, acquired March 2014).
CloudOrigin provided IT advisory services for all of these successful investments.
HgCapital’s objective is to support the Sequel management team in building a clear technology champion in the London market, based on Sequel’s strong platform, excellent reputation for service delivery and innovative solution set.
Sebastien Briens, a Director in the HgCapital Mercury team, said:
“We have been impressed by the clarity of Sequel’s strategy and the quality of its customer base, software platforms, processes and people. The Company stands out in the Lloyd’s and London insurance market for its independence, investment in innovation and focus, which positions it very well to continue to be the supplier of choice for underwriters and brokers. We are very pleased to be partnering with Mario Garcia and the team to accelerate the Company’s growth.”
Mario Garcia, Managing Director of Sequel, said:
“In HgCapital we have found a well-resourced and knowledgeable partner to accelerate our growth. They understand the specificities and attractions of the London market, and can bring to Sequel a wealth of experience in helping software companies scale and thrive. I believe that our partnership will be of great benefit to our clients as we continue to expand our offering and invest into our software development and delivery capabilities.”
For further details, please see www.hgcapital.com.