BDO and Grant Thornton advise on HubSolv | Aryza deal
The Corporate Finance teams of BDO and Grant Thornton have closed a deal in Scotland. The consultants helped the joining of forces between fintech company HubSolv and international technology company Aryza Group.
Headquartered in Glasgow, HubSolv was established in 2014 by Lewis Black and Fraser Hamilton, and has grown quickly into a leading provider of automated case management and CRM software to the personal debt and insolvency sectors. The fast-growing company ranked 165th across Europe, the Middle East & Africa for company growth in 2019, boasting an 850% surge in revenue from 2015 to 2018.
As the firm looks to further boost its reach, HubSolv has opted to become part of Aryza – an international business specialising in providing software solutions for the financial services and insolvency sectors. Founded in 2002, the group now has with operations in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Mauritius and The Cayman Islands.
Backed by Pollen Street Private Equity – a specialist investor in financial and business services sectors – Aryza has made a number of strategic acquisitions in recent months. In late 2020 its heightened growth subsequently saw it appear in the Tech Fast 50 benchmark of fast-growth tech firms in Ireland, organised by Deloitte.
Terms of the HubSolv transation were not disclosed, though a release did confirm that HubSolv’s founders will be remaining at the helm of the business. The firm has a team of 18 including 10 developers, and its incumbent management team expect the investment will help them to drive its future growth.
Co-founder Hamilton remarked, “The acquisition provides a great opportunity for HubSolv to accelerate product innovation and growth. It made perfect sense to combine forces with so many product overlaps between HubSolv and Aryza. Being part of a larger group with private equity backing is the next step in our vision to provide the most advanced insolvency and debt management platform in the world.”
Dealmakers
HubSolv was advised on the deal by a team of consultants from Grant Thornton Corporate Finance. Engaged by the shareholders in mid-2020, Grant Thornton supported them throughout the sales process. This included the marketing phase, when Grant Thornton identified a number of strategic buyers able to appreciate the value created by the founders to date, who would be well-positioned to help bolster HubSolv’s next stage of growth.
Grant Thornton’s Corporate Finance Partner and Head of Lead Advisory in Scotland, Neil McInnes, commented, “It is great to see a Glasgow company establish itself in the fintech sector, earning a deserved reputation for revenue growth and innovation just seven years after its formation. Historically Edinburgh, has been the epicentre of Scotland’s finance sector, so it’s testament to the strength of the fast-growing Scottish fintech community on the West Coast that a business like HubSolv can flourish here.”
Grant Thornton’s team was led by McInnes, who was assisted by Associate Director Gary Whyte and Manager Neil Allan. HubSolv was also given legal advice by law firm Burness Paull.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the table, Aryza Group was advised by BDO and Eversheds Sutherland.
