ECI Partners

"Just Google it" is starting to sound like outdated advice with 51% of Gen Z now searching on TikTok (and two-thirds of all searches resulting in zero clicks!). At our ECI Unlocked: Digital Growth Summit, Duncan Nichols from Croud explored how search fragmentation is reshaping digital discovery and how UK growth companies should adapt their strategies to succeed. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eUHGc4rN

ECI Partner Suzanne Pike sat down with Level 20 to discuss her experience of how to make private equity and parenthood work successfully, from open communication and inclusive event planning to supporting both men and women in taking leave and investing time in individuals' return to work.   She comments that it's important not to catastrophise: "Yes, it’s demanding, and we work a lot of hours, but we have bags of independence, flexibility and autonomy compared to a lot of people"   Read more of her top tips for how PE firms can create supportive work environments: https://lnkd.in/e7kv_saH

It was fantastic to get the whole ECI team together in Amsterdam for our annual Away Day, where we bring our values of ambitious, considered and collaborative to life - sharing experiences and perspectives across the business to help drive constant evolution. Of course, it wasn't all work - we also held a blind auction raising funds for Wilderness Foundation UK - and took part in a scavenger hunt across the city. Well done to Georgia Ling, Skyler ver Bruggen, Molly Earl, Jeremy Lytle, Sarthak Sawlani, Rory Nath and Brenda Fernandes for taking the win!

We're thrilled to announce the exit of critical IoT connectivity business, CSL Group, delivering a 3.5x return. Huge congratulations to Ed Heale and team, who have delivered such an impressive performance since our investment in 2020. CSL has grown c. 20% organically every year of ECI’s investment, driven by expansion into new geographies and verticals. Find out more about the exit here: https://lnkd.in/eAQUsXPR

🧠 Ready for a Friday challenge? We’re throwing it back to the picture round from our charity quiz this week - ten private equity-themed dingbats to test your lateral thinking. 💬 Drop your guesses in the comments!

What a fantastic night! It was great to host so many of our advisor community last night at our Charity Quiz, all while raising funds for our charity partner, Wilderness Foundation UK. Huge congratulations to team 'Unlucky for Some' for taking the winning spot - coming up from 11th place at half-time, then coming through with the win Lewis Bantin, Simona Everts, Peter Cookson, Andy MacGilp, Matthew Tucker, Jonathan Dufton and Ewan Parry 👏 A big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket and helped us to hit our fundraising target, with the Quiz raising almost £18,000 with ECI matched funding, to help Wilderness Foundation harness the power of the wilderness and nature to transform vulnerable lives 🫶 And thank you to Paul Jackson for being our superb quiz master for the night and to Chloe James for pulling the event together. 

🫂 Avantia's Homeprotect Home Insurance and CSL Group have both been named as a Great Place To Work UK 2025 in the Financial Services and Insurance sector and in Tech (Large and Super Large category), respectively. Huge congratulations to both teams!   🧩 Ciphr has launched a new, industry-leading HR and payroll integration - enabling users to work in both systems in true real-time https://lnkd.in/eS8FvX2g?   🔎 Croud has launched SearchAnywhere, a new search service to help brands show up across the modern search landscape, not just Google but ChatGPT, TikTok, Reddit, Amazon, and more. https://lnkd.in/epceh5aK   🤝 Insurance Insider welcomed Jeremy Nicholls as CFO for their next stage of growth https://lnkd.in/edDmBu7F   🧠 Peoplesafe unveiled a new AI-powered feature to their offering, Alarm Intelligence - allowing customers to summarise complex incident reports and create actionable insights instantly https://lnkd.in/evsvyYEg     💡ISMS.online revealed their new branding - IO - a bold new identity to support their mission to make compliance confidence accessible to all https://lnkd.in/ea7-gzpP   🏀 TAG launches new sport speciality division, delivering their elite travel solutions for athletes, teams and sports organisations across the globe. https://lnkd.in/exYwc5sh

Congratulations to Rory Nath, who has been announced as a 'Future 40 Midmarket Investment Leader' by Real Deals. 🎉 The Future 40 list celebrates exceptional dealmakers who have not only excelled in their roles but have also served as exemplary figures within their firms and the broader sector  - thoroughly deserved recognition for Rory, who deployed over £230m of equity (including significant co-invest) during the judging period👏 https://lnkd.in/evrhYpkg

As AI usage becomes standardised across #cyber providers, the real question is: what sets one cyber firm apart from another, and how does that translate to value?    Daniel Bailey shares five key areas that are front of mind when looking at the future of cyber: https://lnkd.in/ebg7Q2Cy

How is the role of data providers changing as AI becomes more embedded in businesses? Toby Fitzherbert looks at what sets businesses apart in a world where everyone has access to the same public datasets and discusses three traits that will help define the winners. Read more: https://lnkd.in/etMftgm3 Insurance Insider