Alantra advises Tenzing on its platform investment in Jeffreys Henry*

Feb 2021

Buy-side advisory

Alantra, the independent global mid-market investment banking firm has advised private equity firm Tenzing, on its investment in Jeffreys Henry*, the tech-enabled provider of essential business services for UK SMEs.

London-based Jeffreys Henry provides essential services to over 2,000 fast-growth businesses, international companies and high net worth individuals. The firm helps entrepreneurial businesses achieve their goals through award-winning audit, tax and advisory services.

As the regulatory and compliance environment becomes more and more complex, a growing proportion of UK SMEs are outsourcing mission-critical tasks to expert providers. This, paired with an increasing volume of UK SMEs, has resulted in Jeffreys Henry’s core market growing by over 5% per annum. The firm’s ‘one-stop-shop’, full-service solution to support finance and back-office capabilities, is well-positioned to capture this demand.

Over the past 15 years, Jeffreys Henry has increasingly differentiated itself from traditional providers through its early adoption of technology to improve its service proposition, including the use of workflow management and client interaction software. This is combined with the use of a flexible resourcing model to provide a more efficient and flexible service.

The business has delivered double-digit growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, underpinned by its innovative use of digital lead generation and referrals. Strong NPS scores and a reputation for quality service have resulted in market-leading client retention across its customer base, reflecting the calibre of the firm’s service proposition.

The Alantra team comprised Richard Holden, Josh Jones, Harry Sparks and Sophie Glanfield.

Richard Holden, Partner and UK Head of Business Services at Alantra, commented: “We’re pleased to have supported the Tenzing team on this investment in Jeffreys Henry; the first step in building a scaled professional services platform providing mission critical services to entrepreneurial businesses in focused end verticals.  Jeffreys Henry has demonstrated its ability to scale faster than the market through leveraging technology and its position as a trusted business advisor. Tenzing and management’s combined vision should lead to the development of a more industrialised and innovative business model that meets the SME market’s needs.”

Mike Reynolds, Investment Director at Tenzing, said: “Alantra’s experience in the professional services space was invaluable throughout this transaction. It was great working with the team who supported us with trusted advice as well as keeping things fun in the challenging conditions of lockdown! Richard and his team have similar core values to Tenzing – ambition, integrity and openness and this enabled them to build a strong relationship with the key stakeholders on both sides whilst delivering the deal.”

*Jeffreys Henry rebranded to Gravita in November 2022