Looking Back on 2025

22nd December 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, we look back on a year of real progress at FPE. From new investments and successful exits to specialist content, forums and peer-to-peer events, 2025 has been about helping ambitious founders navigate complexity, build resilience and unlock their second phase of growth.

Across our portfolio, software, data and services businesses continue to sit at the heart of structural change - from AI and automation to cybersecurity, data & analytics and the future of work. Our role is to bring sector insight, practical support and a long-term mindset to help management teams turn these shifts into lasting value.

Here are some of our 2025 highlights.

January: Setting the Pace

• Invested in Clearstate, the leading provider of specialist research and data products for the medtech industry. Clearstate, previously part of The Economist Group’s EI division, strengthens our position in data and analytics.
• Shortlisted for the Real Deals Private Equity Awards 2025 in the PE House of the Year – Small-Cap category, recognising the continued evolution of FPE as a specialist growth partner.
• Launched our “Unlocking Growth” content series, with Partner Chris Kay exploring how thoughtful M&A can accelerate growth and drive value in software-driven companies – and what “good” looks like for founder-led companies using acquisitions as a strategic growth lever.
• Chris also joined a Boardwave roundtable, “Unravelling PE value creation for B2B vertical software businesses”, sharing practical perspectives on what private equity looks for, how value is created over the long term, and how founders can prepare for a successful partnership.

February: Growing our team

• Welcomed Eve Beedell to FPE as a Fund Accountant, supporting our fund finance and operations as we continue to grow.

March: Deepening Sector Insight

• Published a new report: “Cybersecurity Services - A Founder’s Guide to Growth & Maximising Valuation”, helping founders answer questions such as: How much is my cybersecurity services business worth? What really drives valuation? And how can I position the business to grow and maximise its potential?
• Partner Llewellyn John spoke at the Real Deals Tech Innovation Forum, joining peers from Hg and Triton Partners to discuss practical approaches to operational value creation - from digital transformation and AI to data-driven decision-making in portfolio companies.

April: Putting AI to Work

• Hosted an “AI for Operational Efficiency” event with keynote speaker Joshua Wohle bringing together senior leaders from across our portfolio for a morning of practical case studies, live examples and peer-to-peer learning.

May: Strengthening Leadership and Strategic Growth

• Portfolio company MaxContact strengthened its AI capabilities through the acquisition of Curious Thing, a conversational AI firm, enhancing MaxContact’s ability to deliver intelligent, automated customer interactions.
• Partner Henry Sallitt spoke at the Real Deals Summit, joining a panel on “Best practices for talent, development and effective succession” to share perspectives on building leadership benches, planning for succession and supporting founders as their businesses scale.
• Henry also spoke at the BVCA Accelerate Conference, on the panel “The Final Push: From VC, to Growth, to Exit”, reflecting on how investors can support companies through later-stage growth and prepare for premium outcomes.
• In a new “Unlocking Growth” article, Director Ben Cole explored the role of the Chair, explaining why we encourage founders to appoint a Chair earlier than they might expect – and outlining six areas where a great Chair can unlock both business and personal growth for CEOs.
• We welcomed our international investors to London for our Annual General Meeting, providing an opportunity to spend time with the full FPE team, hear directly from portfolio company leaders, and discuss the opportunity set across software, data and services.

June: Scaling, Exits and Talent

• Completed the sale of Zest, a leading employee benefits platform, to Epassi Group - a strong outcome that reflects the quality of the team, the resilience of the platform and the structural need for better employee benefits technology.
• Held our 9th Annual FPE Growth Conference, bringing together CEOs, Chairs and senior leaders from across our portfolio and wider network to explore sector trends, share experiences and build connections.
• Published “Data & Analytics: A Founder’s Guide to Growth & Maximising Valuation”, helping founders understand how D&A businesses are valued, the levers that drive premium outcomes, and how to position their business for the next stage of growth.
• Hosted the FPE People Leaders Forum, bringing together senior People, Culture and HR leaders from portfolio companies. The session focused on “Leading Through Change” – specifically, the difference between change and transition – a subtle but powerful distinction for organisations navigating rapid growth.

July: Celebrating Innovation

• Completed the sale of Optimity, the specialist IT managed service provider predominantly servicing London and the South of England, to Vorboss.
• Portfolio companies, Dynamic Planner and 15gifts, were shortlisted for Technology Business of the Year at the Growing Business Awards 2025 – a strong recognition of their continued focus on innovation, from AI-led development to delivering measurable value for customers.

August: Growing the FPE Team

• Welcomed Luke Gale to FPE as an Origination Analyst, focusing on software and data. Luke is helping deepen our sub-sector coverage and build long-term relationships with founders and management teams in our core markets.

September: Recognising Excellence

• Shortlisted for “Small Cap Buyout House of the Year” at the Mergermarket British Private Equity Awards 2025, recognising our specialist focus and track record in lower mid-market software and services.
• Celebrated BVCA Vision 2025 Awards recognition for portfolio companies 15gifts and Dynamic Planner, both recognised for growth and innovation in London & South East – a testament to the ambition and execution of their leadership teams.
• Partner Chris Kay was named in the Real Deals “Future 40 Midmarket Investment Leaders” list, produced in association with Finatal, reflecting his contribution to investments such as TNP, MaxContact, Codestone, 15gifts and NoBlue2, and to the wider FPE platform.
• Became a sponsor of Level 20, the not-for-profit organisation working to improve gender diversity in private equity through initiatives including mentoring, research and networking – underscoring our commitment to widening access and supporting diverse talent across the industry.

October: Realising Value and Sharing Experience

• Announced the sale of Intragen, a leading European Identity and Access Management (IAM) services provider, to Nomios – another strong example of backing a specialist platform to scale, professionalise and build market leadership.
• Co-hosted a Boardwave breakfast on the role of the Chair, where Partner Llewellyn John led a discussion with experienced Chairs and CEOs – including Elizabetta Camilleri, Lars Dige Pedersen and Christian Erlandson – on the realities of leading from the boardroom and how Chairs can best support ambitious founders.
• Hosted a Data & Analytics sector breakfast, bringing together founders and CEOs from across the D&A ecosystem. Charlie Kerr, founder of With Intelligence, joined us to share key lessons from building one of the UK’s most successful data businesses, with a discussion focused on commercial strategy, investor readiness and what truly drives premium valuations in the sector.

November: Connecting Our Marketing Leaders and Industry Peers

• Hosted the FPE Marketing Forum, bringing together Heads of Marketing from our portfolio companies for practical discussion and peer learning – from building authority in specialist markets, to proving the value of marketing, to rethinking today’s buyer journey in a digital- and AI-first world.
• CFO/COO Kenny Miller joined a panel at The Drawdown’s Breakfast Briefing, discussing how to reduce “standard deviation” in private markets operations – from streamlining onboarding to managing data more effectively across funds and portfolio companies.
• Published 'Microsoft Solutions Partners: A Founder's Guide to Growth & Maximising Valuation' sharing insight into the valuation drivers, strategic levers and evolving dynamics shaping the Microsoft partner ecosystem, alongside a case study on The NAV People (TNP)).

December: Celebrating Portfolio Success

• Celebrated portfolio company Dynamic Planner being named as National Winner for the ‘Scale-up’ Category at the BVCA Vision Awards.

Looking Ahead

As we reflect on 2025, we are grateful to our portfolio companies, investors, advisers and the wider FPE team for their trust, energy and collaboration. The themes shaping our markets – adoption of Gen AI, data criticality and security, ongoing digital transformation and the importance of identifying, nurturing and rewarding great talent – are only becoming more important. We are excited about the fact that a number of our existing specialist software, data and services businesses portfolio companies delivered record quarters in bookings in the second half of 2025 and that the pipeline of new investment opportunities strengthens. We look forward to continuing to support ambitious founders and management teams in 2026 and beyond.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at FPE.