Hill Dickinson’s Private Equity team advises BGF on £ multi-million investment into IT group Evolve

Commercial law firm Hill Dickinson’s Private Equity team has advised BGF, one of the largest and most active growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, on a multi-million pound investment into IT services provider, Evolve.

Founded in 2005, Wigan-based Evolve Business Group helps businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services across a number of sectors, including retail, hospitality, food-to-go and petroleum franchises.

The Group has increased turnover in the last four years from £6.8 million to a target of more than £20 million this year. It expects to double turnover in the next three years.

The funding from BGF will allow the business to implement UK and international expansion plans, with a particular focus on US growth. Evolve currently operates more than 1000 sites across multiple US states, mainly in the fuel forecourt industry.

In the UK, Evolve aims to improve its infrastructure with the creation of a new warehouse, target further acquisitions and increase its national and international headcount by 40% over the next three years. Since 2020, Evolve has grown its workforce from 23 to 117.

Provision of legal advice to BGF was led by Hill Dickinson partner and national head of the firm’s Private Equity team, David Mkhitarian, assisted by senior associate Harriet Adgie and associate Joel Bailey.

Commenting on the deal, David Mkhitarian said: “We have had the privilege of acting as legal adviser to BGF over a number of years and on many different deals. BGF’s investment in Evolve is another example of how an experienced investor can turbocharge growth in young dynamic businesses with potentially significant benefits for both sides. We were delighted to be part of the team that helped make this deal happen.”

For BGF, the deal was led by Pinesh Mehta and Josh Bean of the firm’s Manchester investment team.