Sovereign Capital Partners, a UK private equity buy & build specialist, has backed the management buy-out of Asset Control, a provider of financial data management software to banks and other financial institutions.
The business is headquartered in London and has offices in the US, Singapore and the Netherlands.
The investment comes as several trends have combined: regulatory and business demands for superior information provision, a greater reliance and need for specialist technology provision and an environment where clients are increasing their need for data to unlock more business value. Asset Control, with a blue-chip client base, is well-positioned to benefit.
Sovereign will leverage its experience in the financial services and technology sectors to support Asset Control’s continued momentum during its next phase of growth. This includes the recent investment in Arachas Corporate Brokers, a leading commercial lines insurance brokerage. Sovereign will support the existing management team, led by Chief Executive, Mark Hepsworth, who was appointed in August 2016. He will be joined by Brian Traquair, former President of Capital Markets at SunGard Data Systems, who is to become Chairman.
“We are delighted to be backed by Sovereign,” says Mark Hepsworth. “This transaction will benefit our clients, who can expect accelerated investment in product development to further enhance their data management capabilities. Asset Control has grown rapidly in recent years and we look forward to continued successes with Sovereign in launching new products and winning new clients.”
Sunil Jain, Investment Director at Sovereign, says: “We are very excited to support Mark and the team. The global marketplace for data management systems is growing rapidly and Asset Control is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity in the financial services market. Asset Control stands out due to its highly robust historic performance and attractive growth potential. We look forward to building on what Mark and the team have already accomplished.”
