One of the UK’s biggest tech providers to the property industry has been snapped up by a London-based investment fund.
Derby-based Nurtur, which was created when Fine & Country and The Guild owner, Epropservices, pivoted to become a tech firm in January 2022, later sold off both its estate agency offshoots to The Property Franchise Group. But now Nurtur, which was backed financially by City firm Toscafund, has been sold to Growth Capital Partners (GCP).
Nurtur.Group’s key brands in property are BriefYourMarket, Starberry, Yomdel, Leadpro, The Property Jungle and KnowYourMarket, but it also works across other industry sectors.
When the ‘partnership’ with GCP goes live next month, it will become the majority shareholder in Nurtur.Group Ltd, holding between 51% and 75% of its shares.
Although Nurtur has not revealed the finances behind the deal, its latest company accounts reveal the ball park involved – during 2023 it turned over £26.3 million and made a profit of £4.3 million.
GCP focuses on investing in or buying tech firms and the ‘binding agreement’ with Nurtur.Group Ltd gives it access to several property industry well-known names including marketing automation platform Brief Your Market, chatbot Yomdel, website platform Starberry and and lead generation specialist LeadPro.
Under CEO Damon Bullimore (main image) Nurtur has grown largely through acquisition to employ some 200 people in Derby but also Coimbatore in India.
1,750 firms
It has also signed up some of the largest estate agency groups, but also independent agents to use its products, including 1,750 firms and some 6,000 branches, helped by its former connections to The Guild.
Bullimore adds: “We are delighted to have received investment from GCP. We specifically targeted GCP as a partner due to their specialism in investing in technology businesses, excellent track record of supporting value creation and the supportive partnership style they offer.
“Nurtur is at a critical point of its evolution. Our products deliver efficiency, ROI and insight for clients, enabling them to become data driven and automated.
“We are extremely excited about our new innovations which are already driving value for clients. At the same time, we extend a sincere thank you to Toscafund, for their invaluable support and partnership over the years.
“We believe that GCP is the right investor to support us through this next phase of growth, and we are looking forward to the partnership.”
Nine years
Matthew Siebert, Toscafund Partner and Nurtur NED adds: “Toscafund has been invested in Nurtur and its predecessor since 2015 and has been delighted to help underpin the growth of this exciting software business over the last nine years. We are equally as pleased to continue to support the next phase of growth backed by GCP.
Alex Thomson, Partner, GCP commented: “We have been following Nurtur for several years as the business has invested in its product suite, delivered value for clients and grown the team.
“The investment in Nurtur aligns perfectly with GCP’s strategy of backing ambitious technology-led businesses delivering value for end clients through automation, data insight and AI.
The investment is expected to complete in July and represents GCP’s 11th investment partnership of Fund V.