NorthEdge starts deploying SME fund with iPortalis deal

The deal marks the first investment from the GP's NorthEdge Capital SME Fund I – a fund dedicated to the North of England and Midlands regions that hit its £120m hard-cap in early July. The vehicle is earmarked for growth and development capital, management buyouts, equity release and buy-and-build transactions.

The vehicle deploys equity tickets of £2-10m. The precise amount for this particular investment was not disclosed. The GP secured a "significant" minority stake in the business.

NorthEdge will back the existing management team, led by founders Neil May and Eric Hanig. iPortalis will use the fresh funds to drive further expansion of its client base, continue to strengthen its technology, and triple headcount to 60 staff worldwide.

Company
Founded in 2016 following the merger of Cloud Traders and ExtendASP, iPortalis has roots dating back to 2004. It provides a cloud-based system allowing IT teams to manage all technology purchasing, deployment, and licence and asset management functions centrally.

The business is based in Leeds.

People
NorthEdge Capital – James Marshall (investment manager); John Rastrick (partner).

Advisers
Equity – Grant Thornton,  Richard Goldsack, Dan Rosinke (corporate finance, financial due diligence); Squire Patton Boggs,  Paul Mann, Craig Pettit (legal); Roland Berger (commercial due diligence); Intechnica (IT due diligence).
Company – Oakley Advisory (corporate finance); Clarion (legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• UK / Ireland
• Technology
• NorthEdge Capital