European mid-market tech investor, Tenzing, announced today that it has exited CitNOW Group to Livingbridge, generating a return of 9.6x invested capital and a 74% IRR.
Tenzing invested in CitNOW, the global market-leading provider of sales conversion software for car dealerships, in February 2018 and has supported its growth organically and through acquisitions throughout its four-year tenure.
With Tenzing as its investment partner, CitNOW has made five acquisitions with the support of one of Tenzing’s dedicated Acquisitions Directors. Partnering with US-based Quik saw CitNOW expand its global footprint and accelerate US expansion, whilst the acquisitions of Netherlands-based Web1on1, UK-based Reef Business Systems, Dealerweb and Tootle enabled the company to increase the value it provides to clients through additional products and services, and increase the reach of its market-leading products throughout the customer journey.
Tenzing’s Sales Specialist is currently supporting the team to develop an effective sales process for expanding into Europe, while CitNOW’s Sherpa has assisted CEO Geoffrey Page-Morris on special projects to help accelerate growth.
The automotive player has now firmly established itself as a global market leader, with over 13 million sales opportunities created, 60 million videos processed and over 10,000 dealer installations across 64 countries. It is currently the most penetrated vendor of automotive software in the UK market, with approximately 75% of predominantly franchised dealerships using at least one of its products.
Tenzing has high conviction about the additional value CitNOW can create and has materially reinvested from both Tenzing Fund II and Tenzing Belay alongside Livingbridge.
Christian Hamilton, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tenzing, said: “We’re super proud to have spent the last four years working with the management team at CitNOW as the business has transformed the customer journey in automotive. Along the way, CitNOW broke into new markets and acquired market-leading companies that led to huge growth during our investment period. We’re really grateful to have enjoyed an amazing relationship with the team, initially led by Alistair Horsburgh and then Geoffrey, who have been instrumental in CitNOW’s evolution.
As we enter this next chapter, we look forward to partnering with Livingbridge to deploy the combined power of our firms’ Growth Teams to build a truly outstanding business.”
Geoffrey Page-Morris, CEO of CitNOW Group, commented: “We’ve had an amazing four years with Tenzing, and we’re a stronger and more successful company thanks to their support. Their backing has enabled us to invest heavily in expanding the suite of products we provide to car dealerships and scale the business internationally. We are really excited about our continued partnership with the support of both Tenzing and Livingbridge.”
Simon Peet, Partner at Livingbridge added: “CitNOW Group is a fantastic business which has built a reputation for innovation and excellence in a large and rapidly evolving sector. We look forward to working with Geoffrey and his team to further scale the business organically, as well as continuing to expand the range of solutions the Group offers to its customers through strategic M&A.”
Tenzing and CitNOW were advised on the exit by Raymond James, Osborne Clarke, Alvarez & Marsal, PwC Strategy&, Clearwater Debt Advisory, Liberty and Crosslake.
