BGF exits Optima Partners with 4x return as GCP invests in AI firm
BGF has completed its exit from Optima Partners, a data and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation consultancy, following the company's acquisition by Growth Capital Partners (GCP). The exit has generated a 4x money multiple (MM) return and an internal rate of return (IRR) exceeding 50% for BGF. BGF has reinvested in Optima as a minority shareholder alongside GCP.
Performance growth
BGF first backed Optima in 2022, supporting its expansion plans with a multi-million-pound investment. Since then, Optima has recorded 40% revenue growth in 2024. The company has also increased its headcount by more than 90% over the last two years and expanded its physical presence with new offices in London and Bristol.
Optima, founded in 2013 by Alan Crawley, has established itself as a consultancy focused on customer experience and data transformation. The business experienced further momentum in 2021 after Crawley was joined by Dr Chris Foley, an expert in mathematics underpinning machine learning and advanced AI applications.
Health data expansion
During the investment period, Optima launched bioXcelerateAI, a new division dedicated to health data science. The company states that this move supports opportunities in sectors requiring advanced analytics and data applications, to help organisations optimise the use of emerging technologies.
"Since founding Optima Partners in 2013, the business has gone from strength to strength, expanding our capabilities, growing our team and deepening our impact across a range of critical sectors. The launch of our health data science division, bioXcelerateAI, has been a major milestone, reflecting the scale of opportunity we see as organisations look to make better use of data and advanced analytics. The backing and continued support from BGF has been instrumental in helping us reach this stage of our growth. This investment from GCP marks the start of an exciting new chapter. It gives us the momentum to build on our success, accelerate our plans and continue developing the capabilities that will define the next stage of Optima's journey." said Alan Crawley, Founder, Optima Partners.
Future priorities
Optima assists clients across sectors such as financial services, insurance, energy, telecoms and pharmaceuticals in applying data, analytics and AI to practical business problems. The consultancy describes its approach as blending academic foundations with commercial outcomes for clients. The company intends to use the latest investment to scale its services further and invest in talent and operational infrastructure.
"Our focus is firmly on enabling the next phase of Optima's growth. GCP's investment is a strong endorsement of our mission to help our clients turn their data, analytics and AI strategies into measurable outcomes at speed. This new funding from GCP allows us to accelerate our growing track record of innovation, invest further in our people, and strengthen the infrastructure required to support our clients at greater scale. With this partnership, we can move faster to help organisations understand, adapt and enhance human- and data-led decision-making supported by AI, bridging academic foundations with industry-focused and value-based impact," said Chris Foley, CEO, Optima Partners.
Investor perspective
The transaction marks another high-return exit for BGF, which retains an equity interest in Optima as a minority partner. BGF focuses on long-term scale-up investment across the UK and Ireland portfolio.
"This transaction represents a very successful exit for BGF and a strong endorsement of what Alan, Chris and the team have built at Optima since our investment in 2022. The business is now firmly established as a leader in applied data and AI, and we're delighted to have backed this period of its growth, while also reinvesting alongside GCP as Optima moves into its next stage of development," said Michael Berger, Portfolio Director, BGF.
