Appnovation has secured GBP9.3m in equity financing from a joint partnership between the Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) and the UK’s BGF.
The investment will allow Appnovation to accelerate its international growth and expansion strategy, spurring jobs and economic growth in Canada, the UK and beyond.
Appnovation is a full-service digital consultancy, focused on delivering meaningful business outcomes that drive innovation, growth and ultimately value for its clients. Through digital strategy and a deep industry focus across a variety of verticals (including some of the largest financial services and pharmaceutical companies in the world),Appnovation’s expertise with user-centric, design-led experiences and open technology platforms, helps brands to better engage their customers.
Both Appnovation and BGF have significant operations in Reading, UK, which will allow for on-the-ground support and close collaboration between the two organizations.
With Canadian offices in Vancouver, Quebec and New Brunswick, and a total of 14 offices across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific, the investment will provide Appnovation with growth capital and the ability to strengthen the company’s balance sheet as it scales up internationally.
“We’re thrilled to have the support of CBGF and BGF as long-term minority investors that share our vision for thinking big and planning for ambitious growth,” says Arnold Leung, Founder and CEO of Appnovation. “That partnership and our recent rebrand launch will allow us to quickly scale both our network and presence throughout the UK and globally.”
Both the CBGF and BGF were created by financial institutions in their respective countries to address the significant growth capital gap faced by mid-market companies. By providing patient, minority capital through an evergreen fund structure and adding value through strategic counsel, both organizations play a critical role in ensuring high potential businesses in their markets can access the growth capital and relationships needed to reach their full potential.
“Appnovation is building an impressive business by executing a differentiated international growth strategy, and we are excited to partner with their leadership team as they evolve into a leading global digital consultancy,” says George Rossolatos, CEO, Canadian Business Growth Fund. “The opportunity for both the CBGF and BGF to further our independent mandates together by driving job creation in each of our respective markets with this joint investment in Appnovation is very exciting.”
“This first co-investment marks the deepening of the relationship between BGF and CBGF, backing the growth ambitions of Appnovation both in the UK and Canada,” says Stephen Welton, CEO of BGF.“We have been delighted to support CBGF since its inception and are proud to have seen the BGF model effectively deployed on an international level. The relationships we have will help to build opportunities and networks for our portfolio and the CBGF’s. We’re very keen to see the BGF model adopted in other countries, creating a positive and pragmatic network for growth businesses across the globe. Increasingly, entrepreneurs and high growth companies need effective strategies to expand internationally. This investment highlights how long-term patient capital can really accelerate that.”