Sovereign Capital Partners, a UK private equity Buy & Build specialist, has completed a significant investment in AquaQ Analytics (AquaQ), a specialist data analytics and data science services business supporting global financial institutions.
Sovereign has partnered with the management team to further grow the company’s international presence and develop its range of services.
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland, AquaQ has offices in the USA, Singapore and Hong Kong. The business employs over 180 staff, which includes its team of highly skilled and qualified consultants.
AquaQ has significant expertise in helping its clients optimise, develop and maintain their database technologies and take advantage of advanced data and analytics. The company, which enjoys long-term relationships with a number of leading financial institutions, also has its own proprietary suite of software tools, TorQ.
Sovereign is backing founders Ronan Pairceir and James Bradley, an experienced management team who have grown AquaQ into a highly successful and well-regarded business in just a few years. Guy Warren, a proven executive in financial services technology and services, joins the business as non-executive Chair. Guy is CEO of technology business ITRS, a former NED of White Clarke Group, ex-COO of FTSE Group and EVP of Misys Banking. He also has significant private equity experience.
Jonathan Thorne, Director, Sovereign Capital Partners, says: ‘We are delighted to have the opportunity to back the AquaQ team at what is a really exciting time in this market. The growing velocity and volume of data is driving an increase in analytics requirements. This, coupled with the complexity and mission critical nature of data and analytics, means clients are increasingly seeking the skills of specialist and expert providers like AquaQ to implement, develop and support their requirements. We look forward to working with the team to support the next phase of AquaQ’s exciting growth and further developing their expertise and range of services.’
Ronan Pairceir, CEO and Co-Founder of AquaQ, says: “Both James Bradley, my co-founder, and I, are delighted to be partnering with Sovereign as we look to the next stage of growth for AquaQ. The market has rapidly developed in the last few years and continues to evolve at pace. By further developing and diversifying our data analytics and data science services offering, we will be able to provide clients with an even greater breadth and depth of bespoke and robust solutions to meet their needs. We believe Sovereign is the right investment partner for us to deliver our ambitions for the business, our team and the clients we serve.”
Sovereign was advised on the deal by Alantra, a global mid-market investment banking firm.
