• Vuealta software division sold to California-based Anaplan Inc for an undisclosed amount, that has generated a material multiple on the total sum invested by YFM Equity Partners (YFM) funds to date
• YFM remains invested in the core Vuealta consulting business to support its next phase of growth

YFM announces the partial exit of its investment in leading planning and forecasting software and services business, Vuealta, through the sale of its fast-growing software division to long-standing partner and supply chain solutions business, Anaplan. 

Founded in 2017, Vuealta delivers scenario planning and forecasting solutions for supply chain, finance, HR and operations through the Anaplan platform. Vuealta, an Anaplan Gold Partner, has grown rapidly by enabling clients such as Polaroid, Vita Coco, and Del Monte to transform their operations to drive growth and opportunity.

YFM has invested a total of £5.6 million in Vuealta over the past 18 months to support the growth of its services offering and to fund the development of an innovative software division.

Following YFMs investment, Vuealta’s software division rapidly developed and demonstrated its business potential, which led to the decision by Anaplan to acquire and continue its development in-house.  YFM worked closely with Vuealta and Anaplan on the carve out of the division, which included the acquisition of nineteen Vuealta employees including its senior team led by CEO Ian Stone, moving to Anaplan’s global team.

Philip Hunt, Chair, continues with Vuealta under its International Managing Directors, with Nigel Gale promoted to Chief Executive Officer of the global business.

Vuealta was originally introduced to YFM by HMT Corporate Finance.

David Wrench, Partner at YFM Equity Partners, said:

“To realise such a strong return for our investors through a partial sale only 18 months after our original investment is a great achievement. It underlines the strength of the proposition built by Ian and the team at Vuealta and our ability to identify and support commercial potential in early-stage technology businesses.  We look forward to continuing to partner with Vuealta, under Philip and Nigel’s leadership, on the next phase of its exciting growth journey.

Philip Hunt, Chair of Vuealta said 

“We wish Ian and the team every success as we look forward to continuing our trusted partnership with Anaplan by providing high-quality planning solutions across multiple industry sectors in Asia Pacific, EMEA and North America. I am delighted Nigel Gale will be leading Vuealta going forward. A highly experienced industry veteran, Nigel has been part of Vuealta and Anaplan since 2015, making him ideally qualified to lead our business.  With economic volatility and increasing digital transformation presenting major opportunities and challenges to businesses worldwide, demand for dynamic business planning solutions among our client base has never been greater.”

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About YFM

YFM invests £2m to £10m into businesses with strong growth potential located across the UK through a regional network of offices in London, Leeds, Manchester, Reading and Birmingham.

YFM Equity Partners are specialist, independently owned, private equity investors. Having recently celebrated 40 years of investing experience, our portfolio may have changed over the years, but our ethos has remained the same – to support small businesses across the UK in their next phase of growth. We seek 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. We do this by helping our portfolio companies launch new initiatives, make transformative acquisitions, and upgrade technologies and systems. We are dedicated to working alongside management teams to create long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and make a positive economic impact for the communities in which we work. We manage funds in excess of £420 million which include venture capital trusts and private equity funds.

YFM Equity Partners conducts its investment business through its subsidiary YFM Private Equity Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 122120).

For more information, please visit www.yfmep.com or follow us on LinkedIn