AI and data consultancy, Optima Partners, has been acquired by Growth Capital Partners (GCP) after BGF sold its stake, then re-invested as a minority shareholder.
Optima is an Edinburgh headquartered company, founded in 2013 by Alan Crawley, and now using the new investment to focus on European expansion and other growth plans.
Growth accelerated in 2021 when Mr Crawley partnered with Dr Chris Foley, an academic in advanced mathematics that underpins cutting-edge machine learning and AI applications.
BGF first backed Optima in October 2022, completing a multi-million-pound investment. Since then, Optima has performed strongly, with 40% revenue growth delivered in 2024. The company has also increased headcount by more than 90% in the last two years, with additional offices opening in London and Bristol.
The exit delivered a four times return on the original investment and an internal rate of return of more than 50% for BGF.
Mr Crawley said: “Since its launch, Optima has gone from strength to strength, expanding our capabilities, growing our team and deepening our impact across a range of critical sectors.
“The launch of our health data science division, bioXcelerate AI, has been a major milestone, reflecting the scale of opportunity we see as organisations look to make better use of data and advanced analytics.
“The backing and continued support from BGF has been instrumental in helping us reach this stage of our growth.
“This investment from GCP marks the start of an exciting new chapter. It gives us the momentum to build on our success, accelerate our plans and continue developing the capabilities that will define the next stage of Optima’s journey.”
Dr Foley, now CEO, added: “With this partnership, we can move faster to help organisations understand, adapt and enhance human- and data-led decision-making supported by AI, bridging academic foundations with industry-focused and value-based impact.”
#Data #consultancy #Optima #expand #sale #GCP #Daily #Business