Distology sold to Foresight Group

Operazione

Sell-side

Undisclosed

Ruolo

Adviser to Distology on its sale to Foresight Group

Settore

Tecnologia e servizi tecnologici

Regione

Regno Unito

We have advised Distology, a specialist cybersecurity value-added distributor, on its sale to Foresight Group (Foresight). This transaction marks an exit for NorthEdge.

Distology is the go-to distributor for disruptive cybersecurity vendors seeking to scale across Northern Europe through the IT channel. It is a strong example of a regional business with genuine international reach. Headquartered in Stockport in the North West, it serves customers across the UK and Northern Europe, supported by operations in the Netherlands and Germany.

Distology has also established itself as a recognised leader within the IT channel, with CEO Hayley Roberts named among the Top 20 EMEA Channel Leaders and the business being a prolific winner of Channel and Partner Awards throughout the investment period. The business has been recognised among the Top 200 Women-Powered Businesses and at the Northern Power Women Awards.

NorthEdge invested in Distology in February 2021, backing founder and CEO Hayley Roberts and her management team in their first institutional investment to broaden the vendor portfolio, deepen technical capability and scale the business internationally.

This recent investment marks the next stage of Distology's growth journey, creating a platform for continued expansion. Foresight's experience supporting high-growth businesses will help Distology build on its strong market position and pursue further growth opportunities across Europe.

More about the process

Working closely with management and shareholders, our team developed a compelling investment case highlighting Distology’s unique position as the go-to partner for disruptive cybersecurity vendors seeking to scale across Northern Europe, alongside its proven track record of vendor growth and strong international expansion opportunities.

We ran a focused and competitive investor-led process, engaging a select group of high-quality financial sponsors. Throughout the process, we leveraged management’s exceptional market knowledge, strong new business pipeline, growing ecosystem of innovative vendors and clear growth strategy to generate significant interest and maintain competitive tension. Following extensive diligence and multiple rounds of engagement, Foresight emerged as the clear choice to support Distology’s next phase of growth, providing the capital, expertise and strategic support required to accelerate the business’s ambitious growth plans.

The Clearwater team have been a trusted partner since NorthEdge’s investment and throughout this transaction, playing a critical role in helping us achieve an excellent outcome. With Ed and George having successfully advised us when NorthEdge invested in Distology in 2021, they brought an unparalleled understanding of the business and market, our strategy and the objectives of the shareholder group. Their hands-on approach, strategic insight and deep sector expertise ensured we were well prepared at every stage of the process, while their ability to engage with high-quality investors and manage a complex transaction was invaluable.
Hayley Roberts, CEO, Distology

Clearwater's deep understanding of both the cyber security landscape and Distology’s business model made them an invaluable partner throughout this process. Their strategic guidance, thoughtful management of a competitive process and attention to detail were instrumental in securing an excellent outcome for shareholders. The team worked tirelessly to maintain momentum and deliver a result that not only recognises the quality of the business built over the last five years, but also positions Distology strongly for its next phase of growth.
Liam May, Partner, NorthEdge

Over the last five years, Distology has evolved into one of the UK's leading specialist cyber security platforms, combining market-leading vendor relationships, deep technical capabilities and an unwavering commitment to both their vendors and their reseller partners. Having had the privilege of advising on NorthEdge's initial investment and maintaining a close relationship with the business since then, it has been particularly pleasing to support NorthEdge, Hayley and the wider management team on this transaction. Distology is exceptionally well positioned to capitalise on the long-term growth drivers underpinning the cyber security sector, and we look forward to following the company's continued success alongside Foresight.
Ed Gale, Managing Director, Clearwater

Having worked closely with Hayley, Andy and the Distology team during NorthEdge's investment in 2021, it has been a pleasure to support the business once again on this important milestone. With NorthEdge's support, the business has delivered successfully on its growth strategy, underpinned by the continued growth in the number of quality of vendor partnerships. This transaction builds on Clearwater's extensive experience advising founder-led and private equity-backed technology businesses and further strengthens our credentials within the cyber security sector. We are delighted to have supported the shareholders throughout this process and look forward to seeing Distology continue its impressive growth journey alongside Foresight.
George Bullivant, Director, Clearwater