3rd November 2021
Nottingham, 21 October 2021: Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”), a leading UK listed infrastructure and regional SME private equity investment manager, is pleased to announce the successful sale of Selazar Limited (“Selazar”), a logistics management software platform, to an independent global investment firm.
Based in Castle Donington, Belfast and London, Selazar is an end-to-end eCommerce fulfilment platform which aims to simplify and reduce the costs of fulfilling ecommerce sales orders for retailers and logistics providers. Selazar connects the four major components of ecommerce order fulfilment: product suppliers, fulfilment centres, couriers and retailers. Retailers are able to readily view and manage their stock, sales orders and returns through a single, unified platform.
Foresight has taken a proactive approach alongside the management team to strengthen the business. Since the investment round in November 2019 led by Foresight, Selazar has fully launched its proprietary software platform and opened a base in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, strategically positioned in an area with a strong logistics presence. This also gave the company access to the large SME retailer market and its fulfilment partners, which has supported material growth in the company’s customer base. To meet this demand, Selazar has grown its team, with 30 high quality jobs created.
Selazar’s new investment partner will provide £20m of further growth capital to support expansion across Europe, the US and Latin America with total headcount projected to quadruple over the next year.
The sale represents a return of 3.4x to Foresight with an IRR of 135% after less than two years and the first successful exit for the Foresight Midlands Engine Investment Fund. This is also the seventh exit completed by Foresight’s Private Equity team in the last 12 months, cementing its position as one of the most active SME investors in the UK market.
Jack Williams CEO of Selazar said: “Foresight’s support over the last two years has been invaluable in helping us establish our business, launch our innovative platform to market and deliver those initial, critical phases of growth. Through the support of Foresight and other investors, we have been able to attract our new investment partner, which will help us achieve our next phase of global growth”.
Adam Huckerby, Senior Investment Manager at Foresight, added: “It has been a pleasure to work with Jack and the whole Selazar team over the last two years. This is an excellent example of how emerging businesses can benefit from regional funding initiatives such as the Midlands Engine Investment Fund to support their growth plans and as a bridge to a larger investor. We wish the team all the best in the next chapter of their exciting journey.”
Ken Cooper, Managing Director at the British Business Bank commented, said: “The successful sale of Selazar shows that good commercial returns can be made from investing in ambitious companies in the Midlands region. We anticipate that Selazar will continue to create more jobs and further boost the local economy with the support of its new investors. Meanwhile our fund managers continue to support good businesses with growth potential across the region, thanks to the MEIF."
Kevin Harris, Chair of the LLEP Board of Directors, said: “It’s great news to see a Leicestershire business receive investment through the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and move to the next stage of growth. This success story has also created 30 local jobs in LLEP priority sectors of tech and advanced logistics, with more to come as the business continues to grow. The Midland Engine Investment Fund was set up to support businesses to grow and create jobs across the region and I am delighted to see another Leicestershire business benefit from the fund. I wish Salazar every success for the future.”
Foresight and the other shareholders were advised by Browne Jacobson, Tughans and PwC.
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