London-based content management system developer, Abacus e-Media, has scored a £2.25m investment from the Business Growth Fund, the VC investment vehicle co-owned by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, RBS and Standard Chartered banks.
Abacus was spun out of its ill-fitting parent, HR software developer Bond International, back in April 2011 (see here), after a four year residency on the back of Bond’s acquisition of HR software firm Gowi. Bond sold Abacus to management, backed by private investors, for £1.75m, at which time Abacus was turning over some £4m; current revenues are £4.5m. BGF has installed ex-Logica Chief Marketing office Nick Caplan as NED.
Abacus’ target market is in digital media, one of the hottest spots in deal activity. Players are sought both by conventional media agencies looking to move into the digital age, and increasingly by unconventional players from the IT services scene attempting to broaden their reach beyond traditional corporate web design work.