12 December 2023: BGF, one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland, has made a multi-million pound follow-on investment into Evoke Creative following significant contract wins and international growth.
Evoke delivers transformative digital solutions for retail and hospitality businesses by delivering engaging digital experiences with kiosks, signage and EPOS for clients such as McDonald’s, JD Sports, Bibliotheca and Google.
BGF invested £6 million in November 2018 and this latest investment will allow Evoke to build on recent growth. This year, the business has driven significant international growth securing contracts with two US multinational restaurant brands representing nearly 70,000 restaurants across the globe. The rapid roll-outs to such brands allows Evoke’s customers to benefit from significant revenue boost and cost-savings.
Evoke has also signed a three-year contract with an international hotel brand worth £5.6 million, demonstrating the business’ ability to deliver end-to-end specialist solutions blending kiosk hardware, customer facing software and enterprise integration, with sector-leading service levels.
Commenting on the investment, CEO Peter Edwards, said: “We’re delighted to announce today’s investment from BGF as their team continues to back our long-term growth strategy. We’ve had a standout year and are on course to deliver a 35% uplift in sales for our current financial year with huge potential for future growth. The investment will allow us to continue to invest in our technology and increase kiosk outputs to meet demand.”
Evoke’s co-founder, Neil Clark is taking this opportunity to step away from his role but remains a shareholder and fellow co-founder Dean Ward will continue in his role as CPO.
Neil Clark added: “I’m leaving the business in the very capable hands of CEO Peter Edwards and a very strong management team. It’s been an amazing journey since Dean and I started the business 15 years ago and I’ve met some wonderful clients and suppliers on the way, so I’ll be sad to leave everyone. Evoke has an exciting future ahead, and I wish everyone, particularly Dean, all the best for the next phase of growth.”
Ian Plumb has also been named non-executive chair (NXC) at Evoke. This appointment was supported by BGF’s Talent Network – one of the largest groups of board-level non-executives in the UK and Ireland.
BGF investor, Rhys Davenport, added: “Evoke has secured a series of impressive customer contracts this year in terms of value, scale and the calibre of brands they are supporting. We look forward to working with the team as they continue to build on this in the next chapter.”
Advisers:
- BGF – DWF (Will Munday, Matthew Judge, Alexander Szehidewicz, David Hill)
- Evoke – Brabners (Daniel Hayhurst, Nathan Samuel and Brendan McAleese)
ENDS
About BGF:
- BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested £3 billion in 500 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK.
- BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs.
- BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 16 offices.
- In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2020, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s funding model.
www.bgf.co.uk / Social media: @BGFinvestments
