On paper at least, Shop Circle’s and Abingdon’s early backers are sitting on 2.5-3x MOICs. What about other UK tech aggregators?

Disclaimer: Unless noted otherwise, views and analysis expressed here are the author's own and based on public sources. The article is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional for investment decisions.

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At RollUpEurope, we are data obsessed. We track cap tables. We track multiples paid and multiples raised at. We stay on top of money flows!  

With so much fundraising activity by UK technology serial acquirers, we thought you might appreciate an update. We dusted off our analysis on 10 names across software, Youtube, agencies and ecommerce / DTC:

In this article, we go over 3 topics:

1. Evolution of valuations at which UK tech aggregators have raised funds

2. Who’s been equity funding new rollups? Insights from D2E Labs and Aries Global

3. The math and the terms behind AscendX’s recent $110M raise

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Before we dive in… let’s hear it from our sponsor SourceScrub!

Evolution of valuations at which UK tech aggregators have raised funds

Excluding the outliers Olsam and Electrify, the median pre-money valuation for a newly minted British tech serial acquirer stands at $24M - with $12M equity raised.  

Based on publicly available Companies House filings, we calculated the difference between the seed round share price, and the latest round share price.  

Startlingly for an industry that prides itself on being “programmatic” and “lower risk” (at least versus the broader venture asset class), the dispersion in (paper) investor returns is extreme. Let’s leave Electrify aside - it’s a bit of a special case as we explained here - and double click on the runners-up Shop Circle and Abingdon.   

In December 2021, the Shopify app aggregator Shop Circle raised the seed round. There were several tranches priced at £4 to £14/share (weighted average: £12/share). Last autumn, Shop Circle topped up, raising $28M equity at £31/share. This works out to a 2.5x MOIC. 

The founders Luca and Gian Maria each maintain 15% positions - worth a cool $18M. At least on paper.   

Abingdon - a VMS HoldCo - outdid Shop Circle. It generated a 3x MOIC in 3 years, with $40M in cumulative equity raised. Like Shop Circle, Abingdon has wasted no time putting that money to work, with at least 10 acquisitions closed. Its portfolio contains businesses as diverse as an ERP for Dutch gyms; a VMS for Danish unemployment centres; and a VMS for British subsea cables.  

So, who’s been funding Abingdon?

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