ECI are delighted to toast a highly successful 2022, completing 7 exits, averaging a return of 4.2x gross MOIC and c.60% gross IRR. This represented an average uplift of 102% on prior book value. Exits included the sale of programmatic media partner, MiQ, generating a 6.1x return, the sale of the leading marketplace for SMEs, Bionic, for a 4.8x return, and the sale of Ireland-based trust and fund services provider, KB Associates, to Waystone Group delivering a 3.8x return.
We also celebrated two new platform investments:
- BCN Group, one of the largest and fastest-growing independent managed service providers in the north of England
- Zenergi, a leading energy and sustainability services provider, with a focus on the education, healthcare and social housing sectors.
The ECI team have continued to support our portfolio with M&A, with 14 acquisitions spanning the UK, Europe and North America, leveraging our proprietary AI lead-sourcing tool, Amplifind™.
In 2022 we further invested in the support we can offer management teams. Our ECI Unlocked programme launched, connecting business leaders across the ECI portfolio, and we launched our Growth Specialist Panel of independent experts, available as needed to support portfolio management teams on projects that will drive value within key focus areas. We also invested within ESG, beginning the process of B Corp certification to strength test and improve our ESG capability.
We have also invested in our own business, expanding our investment team by 20%. 2022 saw us welcome Jin Ni Ooi in the Investment Team, Mia Smith in the Commercial Team, Lesley Davies as Growth Specialist, Adam Whitfield in the Investor Relations Team, Tsvetelina Delcheva and Victoria Gustavsson to the Origination Team, and Marina Lazaro, Marianne Cockle and Natalia Haq to the support team.
