Leading regional private equity firm, NorthEdge, has announced its investment in employee engagement software platform Oak Engage.
Headquartered in Newcastle, the company provides a mobile-first employee engagement and intranet platform which supports businesses to build a strong culture, enhance productivity and boost operational efficiency.
Oak Engage is trusted by major brands such as NatWest Group, ScS, Burger King UK, Five Guys, Aldi, and Halfords and has achieved strong growth with clients that are seeking to engage a disparate, frontline worker employee base. The customisable platform acts as a central hub to reach and engage deskless workforces, giving them easy access to company news and key documents. It also uses AI to deliver personalised communications, making it as easy as possible to get the right message, to the right people, at the right time – wherever they are located.
The company’s success has been driven by a senior leadership team who have extensive experience in scaling software businesses. Will Murray, CEO, has proven expertise in growing SaaS companies and has successfully led the growth at Oak Engage since 2019. Jake Armstrong, CFO, joined the business in 2021 following an expansive career in practice and industry, including acting as a fractional CFO for a number of Tech and SaaS organisations.
NorthEdge’s investment will support the business to invest in its commercial team to accelerate growth; refine and enhance its go-to-market strategy; and invest in systems and processes to enable data-driven decision making, alongside continued investment into the product.
The deal was led by Jon Pickering, Partner; Dan Matkin, Director; and Simone Masterson, Investment Manager.
Dan Matkin, Director at NorthEdge, said: “We are delighted to be backing Will and the highly ambitious team at Oak Engage to continue the growth of the business following their success over the last few years. The business operates in a fast-growth market that continues to evolve at pace, Oak Engage’s well-invested platform means they are well-placed to capitalise on the increasing demand for employee engagement tools.
“Over the last five years, NorthEdge has been the most active B2B software investor in the regional market. This has enabled us to establish a strong track record of supporting and scaling B2B SaaS businesses based in the UK regions; and we look forward to continuing this success with Oak Engage.”
Will Murray, CEO of Oak Engage, added: “Oak Engage is an ambitious and fast-growing business and this marks a significant milestone in our journey. It’s a powerful endorsement of our vision for the future and a testament to the dedication and hard work of the team. I’m proud to lead the company at such a pivotal time and to have the backing of NorthEdge as we cement our position as leaders in the industry. We remain firmly committed to investing in our growth, our people, and our product to ensure we continue delivering exceptional experiences for our customers and their employees.”
The deal builds on NorthEdge’s strong technology track record, representing the firm’s 19th technology investment and the ninth investment from NorthEdge’s Fund III, following the investments into Altia, PebblePad and Latus over the last twelve months. It also represents the firm’s second Human Capital Management (HCM) software investment, following its investment in Cezanne HR in 2023, which has continued to deliver strong performance since investment.
NorthEdge was advised by Cavendish (Corporate Finance), Addleshaw Goddard (Legals), Fellwood Advisory (Debt Advisory), Cortus Advisory (Financial and Tax Due Diligence), Crosslake (Technology due diligence) Graph (Commercial Diligence), Megabuyte (Commercial Diligence) and Claritas (Tax Structuring).
Oak Engage was advised by ICON Corporate Finance (Corporate Finance) and Weightmans (Legals).
Read the orginal article: https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/funding/northedge-invests-in-oak-engage-to-accelerate-growth/
