MonacoSol on the Acquisition Trail with £40m War Chest

A tech and software-focused private equity firm is on the acquisition trail backed by a £40m war chest. 

MonacoSol aims to complete two deals in the next six months, adding to its portfolio which currently comprises three businesses based in north west England.

Manchester-headquartered MonacoSol was founded in 2023 and is the family office of technology and software entrepreneur Richard Beaton, who is its chairman.

He sold his first business, Imasys, to Capita in 1997. Since then, he has successfully acquired, grown and sold numerous software and technology businesses, the latest being cyber security software company Deep Secure, which was acquired by Forcepoint in July 2021.
His sons Ollie and Eddie are MonacoSol’s chief executive and chief financial officer respectively and are responsible for its day-to-day running. Including Richard, the senior team as a whole has experience of more than 30 acquisitions and disposals.

 MonacoSol’s war chest will be used to take majority stakes in B2B software and technology businesses and provide them with capital to help them grow.

The firm typically targets UK-based companies with annual turnover of between £500,000 and £2m.

Ollie said: “We have significant funds at our disposal with which to invest in and support companies with strong growth potential.

“Our approach is to add more than just capital, however. We also support founders with practical skills and knowledge in sales and marketing, strategic advice, commercial development and technology.

“We are currently looking at deals involving companies specialising in technology and B2B software. We’re progressing discussions with several founders and hope to complete two investments in the next six months.”

The companies currently in MonacoSol’s portfolio are Open ECX, an AP automation software provider, recruitment software platform Hiring Hub and graduate sales and training recruitment provider Furza. 

Last year, MonacoSol sold WebContractor Holdings, a construction software business, to Payapps.

Ollie said: “We look for companies with their own intellectual property which are led by founders who will benefit from the expertise and guidance in sales, marketing and management that we can provide to build on what they have established.

“Adding in the skills and experience of the MonacoSol team, who have worked together in multiple businesses, creates a well-rounded and balanced management force that offers real value and help to founders to achieve accelerated growth.

“What differentiates us is that we are willing to look at the smaller and often more complex deals that may fall outside of the usual private equity house investment criteria. We are very hands-on, and our team has a track record over a sustained period of building businesses to a successful exit.

“We also have the agility to make rapid decisions on investments, as the experience across our team enables us to recognise the potential for growth across a breadth of businesses in the software and technology sector.”

Matthew Jones, founder of WebContractor and Open ECX, said: “The team at MonacoSol not only provided investment to expand our teams and offices. They also supported us with the expertise, advice and people to make it happen.”