News and Insights

We’re delighted to share the news that ECI-backed Moneypenny, a leader in outsourced customer communications, has appointed Jesper With-Fogstrup as its new Group Chief Executive Officer. This marks an exciting step in the company’s continued journey to drive growth, innovation, and market leading service across both the UK and US customer bases.

With-Frogstrup has extensive global experience across a variety of industries, including CEO roles in businesses such as Smoove plc and The LateRooms Group, as well as senior leadership positions at HSBC and Compare the Market. He brings a strong digital focus and customer centric experience to Moneypenny’s unique combination of technology leadership, innovative solutions and outstanding customer service. 

With-Frogstrup commented on his new role: "I am privileged to be joining Moneypenny - a remarkable business with incredible people, loyal customers, and outstanding products. I am excited about the opportunities for growth—how we can serve our existing customers even better, reach new ones, and harness technology to supercharge our capabilities."

Mark Keeley, Partner at ECI, said "We’re really looking forward to working with Jesper on the next stage of Moneypenny’s exciting development. His vision and expertise will enable the company to expand further and continue to innovate. We’d also like to thank Joanna for leading Moneypenny through transformative growth during our partnership. She has played a key role in establishing Moneypenny’s strong, award-winning culture, which has been a cornerstone of its success.”

Joanna Knight OBE served as CEO for the past eight years and she comments: "It has been an honour to lead Moneypenny through a period of rapid growth and transatlantic expansion, building on our brilliant people-first ethos."

Moneypenny was founded in 2000 and the company received backing from ECI in 2018.

ECI were delighted to have a highly successful 2024, deploying over £500m across five new platform investments. Investments included:

April 2024: TAG, an award-winning, high-touch global travel management company that specialises in arranging complex travel itineraries for the entertainment industry.
October 2024: Independent Governance Group, the UK’s leading provider of professional pensions trusteeship and governance services.
October 2024: Croud, the global full-service digital marketing company.
October 2024: CMap, a market-leading provider of professional services automation (PSA) software.
November 2024: Insurance Insider, a premier digital platform providing insight and analysis for the world’s top insurers, distributors, service providers and investors.

We supported our portfolio to achieve 17% revenue growth in the last 12 months, with the ECI Commercial Team supporting our management teams on key value add projects across everything from deploying AI to expanding into the US. In 2024 as part of our ECI Unlocked programme, we launched the first ECI Growth Summit and ECI Digital Summit, connecting leaders across our portfolio to discuss the growth drivers in their businesses.

40% of the acquisitions we supported our portfolio to deliver in 2024 were international, demonstrating the increasingly global scale of the management teams that we back. With 80% of our portfolio actively pursuing acquisitions, we look forward to further supporting teams with M&A in 2025.

In 2024, ECI realised its remaining shareholding in Auction Technology Group plc, generating a 4.4x return and 146% IRR from our reinvestment in 2020. This reflects a 10-year partnership across two funds since we first invested in ATG Media Group in 2014, reinvesting in 2020 from ECI 11 and then supporting the business through an IPO in 2021. Interactive Investor listed the flotation as the most successful IPO of 2021. It has been a pleasure working with the team over the last decade and we wish John-Paul and the wider team at ATG every future success.

We were delighted to welcome six new team members to ECI in 2024 as we continue to invest in our own business. Joining ECI this year was the newly appointed Head of People, Tamsin Webster, to help develop ECI’s team for future growth; Ludvig Hamilton, who joined the investment team, bringing experience of Nordic market; our Origination team welcomed both Christy Welsh and Sam Veevers, to help ECI and our investments identify potential investment opportunities; Chris Mockford joins our Investor Relations team bringing 10 years experience in fundraising and IR; and Olivia McGee who joins as Office Assistant, so along with Brenda will probably be the first person you see when you come to the ECI London office!

It was fantastic to achieve further award wins in 2024, being recognised as mid-cap PE House of the Year and also European Fund of the Year by the Real Deals Private Equity Awards.

2024 has seen ECI complete five platform investments, but in an environment of quieter dealflow for the private equity market at large. With over 60 countries having gone to the polls in the last 12 months, what does the global outlook look like now for CEOs, and what is front of mind for LPs, PE Funds and the ECI team?

Tom Wrenn on the 2025 deal market:

“There is an excellent backdrop for increased deal volume across our market in 2025. Currently the UK has a more stable environment compared to the rest of the world, or even to last year. The after effect of a definitive general election win by the incoming government is good for general investment macro stability. The government is cracking through its agenda, which regardless of whether you agree with it or not, is enabling the PE industry to plan ahead. Interest rates are starting to come down, albeit slowly, and this has been calming for businesses in terms of debt cost and leveraged buyouts. CGT changes increasing at a sensible rate demonstrates the government is consulting with business and industry to get it right, and thankfully hasn’t led to business owners halting sales.

We anticipate a continuing uptick in deal flow in 2025 as investors continue to call for more liquidity, but there may be a greater range of quality leading to more failed processes. Higher deal volume in 2025 will be very welcome for the PE market, but it’s important not to ignore the movement of global tectonic plates such as the war in Ukraine, the Middle East and the uncertainty around Trump’s agenda when he’s in power.”

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? Finally being through the horrors of UK 11+ exam process as my final child emerges from them!

Jeremy Lytle on the fundraising market:

“It’s been a challenging few years for fundraising as the same amount of capital being raised is concentrated in far fewer funds. One in three funds are now closing below target and the average time spent fundraising is double what it was in 2019. Behind all these challenges is a lack of exits – realisations have been muted since 2022 when interest rate hikes started, so LPs’ budgets haven’t been replenished with fresh capital for new funds. 

Desire to deliver DPI therefore continues to be the primary objective for LPs, but they will also be looking for mature fund management and smart exits - GPs making sure they are not hanging on to average performing investments for too long, or selling their stars too early, and focusing on the deals that really have potential to drive the overall fund return. These factors, alongside a desire for more co-investment, will likely be three key decision makers for LPs looking to deploy capital in 2025.”  

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? Liverpool doing the double of PL and Champions League by the end of May!

Rory Nath on the North West investment market:

“The wider background of UK stability provides a solid foundation for North West businesses and dealmakers to have a busy 2025. There continues to be challenges around operating in a lower growth environment, but we see North West businesses bucking the trend, delivering some of the best of UK tech in particular. A great example of this is CMap, a Manchester-headquartered market-leading provider of professional services automation (PSA) software, which ECI backed in October 2024. What we’re seeing from the North West headquartered businesses in our portfolio is that, while they benefit from the fantastic local business community, their ambitions are global and we’re seeing great international growth both organically and through acquisitions.

We continue to look for greater infrastructure investment across the region, and government announcements around intra-city transport links are welcomed, although we’ve been here before so I won’t buy a train ticket just yet!”

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? my 10 year anniversary at ECI, and my wife and I welcoming our second child!

Skyler Ver Bruggen on the acquisition market:

“We saw an uptick in M&A activity this year as founders looked to exit ahead of the first Labour budget at the end of October 2024. Advisors are still reporting a high number of sales mandates, although with some slow down in workforce heavy sectors that have been impacted by NI increases. Despite the promise of no more tax increases for businesses there is still uncertainty about how that might change in the future and that will accelerate some sales processes, alongside the usual drivers of enabling succession and retirement.

With a background of lower economic growth, companies and investors will look to acquisitions to drive value. Acquisitions which offer the opportunity for the buyer to extend capability, expand into new geographies and ultimately drive cross sell and up sell will continue to see lots of interest.”

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? Hopefully moving house and getting a bit more space!

Lewis Bantin on portfolio growth opportunities:

“I think 2025 will see more investment in the commercial ‘engines’ of companies, looking at how to marry strong outbound business development, rather than reliance on Google search. While PPC and SEO are great, you are increasingly reliant on a smaller and smaller piece of SEO real estate on a search page, and a hugely contested PPC landscape. Companies are going to become much more focussed on their ideal customer profile and we’ll be looking to support our portfolio in a targeted approach to activating those customers. If you get this right, you should benefit from an increase in customer lifetime value and long-term growth!”

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? I’m looking forward to seeing Captain Caelan leading the Lions down under and hopefully joining him down there!

Tsvetelina Delcheva on the European market:

“Looking at the European deal market, I expect to see more activity in 2025 as investors’ demand for liquidity remains strong. The drivers here are much the same as in the UK – strong dry powder reserves, combined with longer hold periods and ageing portfolios.

Demand for tech businesses will remain strong, which will mean we will likely see more deals in the likes of the Benelux and the Nordics where the tech sector is a cornerstone of the economy. Companies here are doubling down on AI adoption, and leading the way in sectors that enable automation, data analytics, and cybersecurity. Many of the resilient tech businesses across the Benelux and the Nordics are globally-minded, and for that reason we are increasingly seeing international investors being active in those regions, with subsector experience rather than geographical proximity being one of the most important factors for management teams when selecting an investment partner.”

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? Having recently moved closer to Wimbledon, I’m looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere of The Wimbledon Championship from a close distance for the first time.

Ash Patel on the cyber outlook:

“As AI tools grow more sophisticated, phishing attacks are expected to become more targeted and harder to detect. Deepfakes are increasing and improving in quality, with more companies being attacked, which will emphasise the need for robust detection, tools and policies. There will be a push for blockchain and watermarking as technology tries to keep up with attackers.

While AI will benefit bad actors, it will also hinder them. AI-driven cybersecurity systems will improve how organisations can detect and respond to threats. As the machine learning model improves, the speed and accuracy of detection will go up and fewer attacks will make it through. It also enables companies to spot unusual user or device behaviour that might indicate insider threats or compromised accounts.”

What are you personally most excited about in 2025? Celebrating 25 years of marriage and 25 years at ECI!

In our latest Quick Fire, we chat with Investor Relations Director, Chris Mockford, about why he joined ECI, what’s front of mind for LPs in the current market, his preferred outlet for his competitiveness and his love of the Boss.

Q: Have your first three months at ECI been as you expected?

Happily, yes! Exactly as I expected. We’ve closed four new investments in the time I’ve been here, which has meant seeing the ECI investment machine in action. We’re also partnering with LP co-investors on two of these transactions, continuing ECI’s track record of offering substantial co-invest to its fund investors, which has become so important these days.

We also had our LPAC meeting shortly after I joined and we have the AGM coming up in Q1 next year. So, there’s been plenty to get stuck into right from the get-go.

In terms of ECI as a business, I had high expectations coming in. Not only from my interactions with team members during the hiring process and ECI’s overall reputation, but also as I knew my predecessor before joining, so got some appropriate DD in nice and early... Now that I’ve landed, everything’s been exactly in line with what I had expected. There are unique approaches to firm and fund management here, which I think are part of the reason ECI’s been around for nigh-on 50 years and are one of the main reasons I was so excited to join.

Q: What made you want to join ECI?

I knew quite a bit about ECI and the role specifically, before joining. I’d previously been on the placement agent side, first at US investment bank Evercore and then co-founding a boutique placement agent with two other partners, before making the move in-house with a pan-European special situations fund. I knew I wanted to stay in-house and was looking for a firm with a great reputation and a clear understanding that private equity is a long-term game – somewhere I could join and, all being well, stay for the rest of my career. ECI was in that sweet spot, having a fantastic long-term track record, and an approach to firm management that can last another 50+ years, but also great people that work in the same way I do.

Q: How did you get started in the world of placement?

I originally planned to go into equity research but left university in 2011 with the Eurozone crisis in full swing, so those dreams went rapidly south. I decided to focus on smaller companies instead, looking for a role where I could work directly with senior people and hopefully learn a lot. In the end, I took a job with a start-up mining company after sending a letter to their recently-hired CFO, asking if he needed some help... A complete shot-to-nothing but I was hired and did indeed learn a huge amount.

Unfortunately, one of the things I learned is that it’s really hard to build a mine. So before long I left to join Evercore, a much more established firm and in the world of finance, where I knew I wanted to be. I loved the people and it was great working with driven, excited individuals who were passionate about what they were doing. It offered what I’d wanted from equity research in the first place – a mix of qualitative and quantitative work, with a sales angle – just in a format I hadn’t expected.

Q: What traits do you think you need to succeed in IR?

At its heart, the IR role is about outlining how we make investment decisions, making it clear what’s different about our approach compared to our peers, evidencing how it works with facts and figures and then going out and building relationships with investors who find that story compelling.

It’s so easy to get used to your own way of doing things and forget how it’s different or what makes it special. I love thinking about that and trying to find a clear, concise and engaging way of expressing it – a message that cuts through the noise and hopefully resonates with investors.

Being able to then convey that message when you’re sitting across the table is a very different skill but both are a huge amount of fun, as is the process of fundraising itself, which can be intense and is something I inherently enjoy.

The last thing I’d say is you also have to have patience and an appreciation for building a relationship even if it ultimately doesn’t result in an investment. These things take time. Fundraising is much less transactional than other roles in finance – a conversation towards your next fundraise will likely be measured in years not weeks. And while it’s a fantastic feeling when you do ultimately secure an investment, it also helps to have a good dose of resilience and a positive outlook even if you don’t get the result you were hoping for – after all, a “no” today could be a “yes” in years to come.

Q: What is front of mind for LPs in the current market?

DPI has been a huge focus for LPs over the last couple of years as there’s been so little of it! A lot of GPs raised and deployed very large funds back in 2021/22 but distributions have been scarce. It’s another reason I was excited to join ECI – fund size increases have always been quite disciplined here and the team chose to exit into the buoyant markets of 2021/22, rather than doubling down.

There’s also a growing focus on fund management – GPs that can uncover and invest in great businesses, but then also do the next part, which is properly managing the fund’s risk and choosing how to deploy follow on capital, how to support businesses that face challenges during the investment period, and when to exit. Having clear, established processes and a culture that prioritises the overall performance of the fund, not just each deal, will be increasingly important.

Beyond that, co-invest continues to be key and we’re hearing a lot more LPs say they now look at their GPs’ performance in the round, i.e. a single line item showing the overall net return of that relationship, across fund commitments and any co-invest. We’re also hearing more and more from LPs about team stability and a preference for GPs that recognise private equity is a long term game. So – how do GPs make sure they have the strong cohesion and culture they need, to keep that team in place for years to come.

In that sense ECI have made my job slightly easier, in that they established clear practices around people management and succession many years ago. That means there’s a clear path for promotion available to Investment Managers joining ECI today to ultimately leading firm down the line. That makes it much more attractive to bright, ambitious people who might otherwise leave or spin out if they can’t see that path to senior roles within the firm.

Quick Fire with Chris: 

What are you most looking forward to in 2025?

I’ve just bought a road bike so I’m looking forward to getting out for some rides in and around London.

Describe your perfect Sunday

Walk in the countryside, home for a late lunch and an afternoon of board games with my partner. Not a joke… I’m insufferably competitive and get a fix from board games I haven’t found anywhere else.

Who is headlining your dream festival?

Bruce.

Have you ever had 15 minutes of fame?

When I was a kid we were in Rome when the pope died, so we queued for 14 hours to see him lying in state and were interviewed by CNN. A niche claim to fame but there it is…  

What film have you watched the most times?

Shawshank Redemption… although Gladiator is a very close second. There’s a group of extras in the first battle scene who are meant to be in a brutal fight for survival but are just chatting and joking with each other. I only saw that on the most recent watch – the film just keeps on giving.

What superpower would you most like to have?

Telekinesis. I would move my partner’s keys into her pocket before she leaves in the morning.