Iris chief executive leads MBO
Martin Leuw, chief executive of accounting software provider Iris, has spearheaded a £102m management buyout of the company.
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The deal has been funded by HgCapital, a European mid-market private equity firm. It will take a 62% stake in Iris while Lloyds Development Capital, the PE arm of Lloyds TSB, has reinvested £8m for 12% of the company’s equity.
LDC, which has sold its shareholding in the company for £48m, originally acquired an £8m stake in the company when it backed Iris’ £33m buyout in October 2000.
Leuw said: ‘This deal is excellent news for employees and customers. It supports our ambition to be the number one choice of business software for UK accountancy practices and SMEs and we are delighted to have the backing of HgCapital and LDC to support the next phase of our growth.’
HgCapital partner and head of technology investment Nic Humphries added: ‘HgCapital’s technology team has been researching the business software market for some time and we believe that there is potential for significant growth in the UK.’