Inflexion acquires Sparta Global; KCP to reap 7x return

Katharine Hidalgo
14 October 2020

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Inflexion Private Equity has acquired technology education and recruitment provider Sparta Global from Key Capital Partners (KCP).

The investment is being made by Inflexion Enterprise Fund V. The fund closed on £400m in April 2019 and writes equity tickets of £10-35m.

The vendor of the stake is to generate a 7x return from its investment, according to a statement.

Inflexion has taken a majority stake in the business and its current management team will be staying on with it.

The firm has previously invested in other businesses in the sector, including FDM and K2 Partnering Solutions.

Previous funding
KCP provided a £4m funding package to the company in August 2017 to support the growth of the company, including the opening of a new office in the UK.

Company
Sparta trains graduates in a range of technology skills and then deploys them in roles with its clients, aiming to plug the skills gap between university education and technology and business professionals. Based in London and founded in 2017, it employs around 350 people. For the year ending on 30 April 2020, the company generated £25m and EBITDA of £3m, up from £1.5m the previous year.

People
Key Capital Partners – Philip Duquenoy (partner).
Sparta Global – David Rai (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Clearwater International (corporate finance); Squire Patton Boggs, David Milne, Ben Squires (legal); PwC (commercial & financial due diligence).
Vendor – GCA Altium (corporate finance); Osborne Clarke (legal); Ward Hadaway (legal); BDO (tax).