Manchester-based WiFi and location analytics platform Purple has announced a £10.5 million investment from BGF – one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland.
Purple was founded in 2012 by Gavin Wheeldon out of frustration for poor guest Wi-Fi connections and has now evolved into a powerful tool for businesses to turn their physical venues into intelligent spaces, with two core offerings: a cloud-based guest WiFi access portal providing detailed business analytics, and digital wayfinding solutions, following the acquisition of US wayfinding business LogicJunction in 2019.
The investment from BGF will support Purple as it continues its growth trajectory globally and further develops its product offering, including its recently launched asset tracking platform which enables customers to monitor, track and precisely locate key assets live on an interactive map and, through integration with wayfinding, can alert the client if an asset leaves a pre-set area.
Purple has more than 1,000 customers worldwide, including blue-chip corporates and SMEs across a wide range of markets such as hospitality, retail, government, healthcare, banking, and transport.
Gavin Wheeldon, CEO at Purple, said: “Customer experience has become a key driver across a multitude of sectors in recent years which, in turn, has sparked a wave of digitalisation in order to meet the needs and expectations of end users.
“The rise in indoor location services has rocketed, providing us with the perfect platform to grow our core product offerings. In order to realise our future ambitions, we wanted to partner with a minority investor that was willing to join us on our growth journey by taking a long-term approach to their investment. In BGF, we have found that partner. ”
The deal was led by Pinesh Mehta and Courtney Walker, investors in BGF’s Manchester team.
Mehta said: “Purple is a highly impressive and fast-growth business that has tapped into a market that is ripe for growth – both domestically and internationally. The team’s appetite for continuous product development perfectly positions them to capitalise on the rise in demand for consumer data and insights, with the entire indoor location services market expected to grow exponentially over the next decade.
“We’re delighted to be working alongside a hugely ambitious and talented team, helping them to reach their full potential in what is a dynamic and innovative marketplace.”
BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested £3.5 billion in over 500 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 16 offices. In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2020, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s funding model.
