Beech Tree Private Equity today announces an investment in leading cloud data management business, Redstor. The investment will be used to scale-up Redstor, through accelerating product development, increasing the sales and marketing reach of the business and complementary acquisitions.

Beech Tree Private Equity today announces a significant investment in Redstor, a fast-growing provider of cloud data management software and services. The exact terms of the investment are not disclosed. Beech Tree Private Equity have been looking to invest in a company with exposure to the rapid growth in data generated by businesses. Industry forecasts indicate that the volume of data generated by corporates will double in the next 3 years. Furthermore, with regulatory changes on the horizon, particularly GDPR, corporates need to be better able to manage and control the data they generate.

Redstor, headquartered in Reading with operations in South Africa, is a leading provider of cloud data management software and services. Best known for its cloud backup and recovery services, Redstor has expanded its offering to incorporate cloud archiving and disaster recovery with plans to release data insight functionality soon to address compliance challenges such as the GDPR. Importantly, Redstor not only offers the software for managing these data management processes, it also has a managed services wrap to ensure that data is always securely protected against loss and that customers are always able to restore and access data. In an increasingly data driven world with cyber security now a board focus, Redstor provides peace of mind to business owners that their data is secure and safe. The fastest growth area for data management is in the cloud, Redstor has built its software from the ground up to be cloud-optimised.

Commenting on the investment in Redstor, Paul Franks, Managing Partner of Beech Tree Private Equity said" We are delighted to invest in Redstor. There are a number of drivers for rapid growth in the data management and backup market right now, notably the proliferation of data across different devices and end points, the regulatory changes driving control of corporate data and the increased awareness of the threats posed by cyber attacks which is now a board room issue. Redstor is a leading business in this sector providing data management and backup to SMEs and enterprise customers, our investment will be used to accelerate some of the exciting products in the pipeline, such as instant restoration of data and GDPR search & management and to provide firepower to undertake acquisitions to scale-up the Redstor business".

Paul Evans, CEO of Redstor comments on the investment "I am delighted to bring Beech Tree Private Equity into the business. We have built a strong relationship with the team whilst building a joint plan for the business over the past months. The injection of capital and expertise will really enable us to take Redstor to the next level – we have industry leading software and a managed services wrap that truly distinguishes our offering in the market. With Beech Tree's assistance we will now accelerate our product capability and grow through acquisition. I've described Redstor as a hidden gem, it's the right time now to build the brand and capitalise on the significant investment made in the development of our cloud-enabled software and services".

Senior debt and acquisition facilities were provided by Clydesdale Bank PLC.

Funders of the transaction:

Beech Tree Private Equity (Paul Franks, Adam Rudd, Ben Cartwright)Clydesdale Bank PLC (Guy Stamp, Michael Tarr)

Advisers to the transaction:

Advisers to Beech Tree and Newco:

Corporate Finance – Grant Thornton (Andy Morgan, Anthony Platt, Helen Villiers)Financial Due Diligence – Grant Thornton (John Stubbings)Legal – Eversheds (Antony Walsh, Andrew Phillips, Chris Hastings)Commercial and Technical Due Diligence – Cloud Origin (Richard Hall)Tax – PWC (Stephen Woodhouse, Nick Hatton)Banking Legal - Addleshaw Goddard (Alex Dunfey)

Advisers to the Company:

Corporate Finance - Oakley Advisory (James Chapman Andrews, Marc Jones, Oliver Temple)Legal - Osborne Clarke (Greg Leyshon, Emma Barr, Louise Stuart-Buddery)