As you may have heard, Evolve has now officially announced the successful transition into its first-ever investment. This is an incredible milestone that not only highlights the businesses significant growth but also represents a strategic move in its mission to take the pain out of connectivity for as many global customers as possible.
As with any announcement on this scale, there are bound to be questions, some of which are answered here. There are exciting changes ahead, but one thing that won’t change is Evolve’s availability and commitment to its customers. However, if you have any further questions, or want to discuss the investment announcement in more detail, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team.
What is the purpose of the investment?
The investment is designed to help Evolve achieve its strategic goals, specifically, expanding market reach, enhancing its already impressive product offering, increasing operational capacity, and driving innovation and technological development.
Who are the investors involved?
The funding has come from renowned investment company British Growth Fund (BGF) , which boasts an extensive portfolio of businesses inside and outside the telecoms sector. This is a great fit for Evolve, as the British Growth Fund aligns perfectly with its values, ESG initiatives, and the people focus Evolve is known for.
The deal was led by Pinesh Mehta and Josh Bean, investors in BGF’s Manchester team. As part of the investment, Adrian Thirkill will join the Evolve board as Non-Executive Chair, bringing valuable sector and strategic experience.
How will the investment be used?
In the last four years, Evolve has experienced impressive growth, increasing turnover from £6.8 million to a targeted £20+ million this year. Thanks to the investment, it expects to double turnover in the next three years by using the investment to fund UK and international expansion plans, with a primary focus on the US.
Currently, Evolve operates 1,200 sites in the US across multiple states – predominantly in the fuel forecourt industry. It will now move forward with plans to move further into the Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR) sector, working in conjunction with existing partners.
The investment will also support growth plans by enabling key people to be brought on board. In the past few years, the team has grown from 23 in 2020 to 117 in 2024. With the investment from BGF, the plan is to increase national and international headcount over the next three years.
Finally, Evolve will use some of the investment to improve infrastructure, with the creation of a new warehouse in Wigan to support growth plans.
How does the investment align with the company’s long-term vision?
The investment from BGF is an important step in achieving the long-term goals of becoming a market leader, fostering cutting-edge innovation and maintaining a competitive advantage.
Evolve believes British Growth Fund has the experience needed as an ambitious and fast-growth business, with the added benefits of a dedicated Value Creation team and strong network. It has a strong reputation for supporting dynamic and exciting businesses like Evolve on a wide range of growth strategies, so the leadership team is confident BGF is the right partner to help realise the next phase of Evolve’s growth journey.
What changes can we expect as a result of the investment?
In the short term, the biggest change will be the addition of a new non-executive director, who will join the Evolve Board as part of the investment, and bring decades of telecoms sector experience. Although this will not directly impact customers, the longer-term aim is to harness British Growth Fund’s wider industry knowledge in sectors such as retail, quick service restaurants, and hospitality. This will ultimately lead to enhancements in product quality and service delivery.
Exceptional service remains Evolve’s top priority, and you can rest assured that this investment will not change the focus on customer care.
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About Evolve Business Group and Evolve
Evolve Business Group is an independently owned company that specialises in providing end-to-end IT and managed network solutions to a range of businesses. Evolve is helping businesses to reduce costs and simplify the management of services and give business owners and their teams more time to do what they do best.
Founded in 2005, it has worked with a variety of customers across different industries around the world, building a team of highly experienced specialists to help create effective and efficient packages using any combination of different offerings. It keeps a range of cross-sector networks protected and connected.
