Supporting YFM’s multi-million-pound investment in Vuealta

Funds managed by YFM Equity Partners (YFM) have completed a multi-million-pound investment into London-based planning and forecasting software and services business Vuealta to enable further growth and overseas expansion.

PKF Francis Clark supported YFM on the deal by carrying out financial and tax due diligence.

The team got into the detail of what is a dynamic and complex business rapidly, working alongside the deal team in collaborative way, producing an insightful and clear report that really helped us understand the key issues in the transaction.

Founded in 2017 by seasoned entrepreneurs Ian Stone (CEO) and Adam Bimson (CCO), Vuealta delivers scenario planning and forecasting solutions for supply chain, finance and operations. The business has grown rapidly to a team of 70 staff, with offices in four countries spanning the US, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

The investment backs the experienced founders and management team to continue their global expansion strategy alongside US-based Anaplan, leveraging its growing market position in business planning software with a worldwide customer base.

YFM partner David Wrench said: “YFM is backing the vision of Ian, Adam and the excellent team they have built, on the back of the rapid progress they have made in a growth market. Vuealta is a really compelling proposition that is hugely relevant in a post-Brexit and Covid global market.

“Vuealta’s position as a key partner to leading cloud-native planning platform Anaplan, which itself is seeing huge traction, gives it a fantastic opportunity to scale with the support of a multi-billion US-based disruptor. We are excited to be involved in this next stage of growth of an innovative British technology business with ambitious global plans, and add to our evolving stable of high-growth UK tech investments.”

The PKF Francis Clark team comprised Sam Phillips, Andrew Killick, Tom Slade, Adam Kefford and Chris Rodgers.

Transaction services director Sam Phillips said: “Vuealta is an exciting tech business whose software and consultancy services are changing the way companies in a wide range of sectors produce financial and operational models. With this backing from YFM, Vuealta is well placed to realise its significant overseas growth potential over the coming years.

“We enjoyed working in a collaborative and flexible way with the teams from YFM and Vuealta to produce valuable insights into the company’s historical performance and growth forecasts, building on our existing relationship with YFM.”

The YFM team comprised David Wrench, Tiffany Young and Jamie Roberts.

David Wrench said: “It was great to be able to work with Sam, Tom and the team at PKF Francis Clark on the investment into Vuealta. They got into the detail of what is a dynamic and complex business rapidly, working alongside the deal team in collaborative way, producing an insightful and clear report that really helped us understand the key issues in the transaction. The team were a real pleasure to work with and we look forward to working with them again on future transactions.”

Other advisers included: Rachel Turner and Bronia Richard of HCR Law, who provided legal advice and due diligence; Lucy Green of Larato, who provided commercial due diligence; and Richard Joyce and Munyaradzi Masumba of Grant Thornton, who led technical due diligence. Organisational due diligence was handled by Anna Cornwallis of Stratton HR; insurance due diligence by Kevin Stout of Lockton; and VCT advice came from Philip Hare and Alison Caulfield of Philip Hare & Associates.

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