BGF has invested €13m for a minority stake in Redfaire, the Limerick-headquartered Oracle ERP and cloud services group that employs more than 200 people across Ireland, the UK, mainland Europe and North America. Founder-led since 2003, the company keeps control.
Redfaire was founded in 2003 by chief executive Brian McInerney and has grown without institutional venture backing, building a consulting, implementation, managed services and cloud practice around Oracle JD Edwards, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Oracle Fusion. Its customers are large enterprises running mission-critical systems, a segment where switching costs are high and contracts are long.
The investment, announced on 21 August, is structured as a minority growth capital deal rather than a buyout. BGF, which was established in 2011 and is backed by five of the UK's largest banks, takes non-controlling positions and does not seek day-to-day management involvement, leaving the founding team with operational control and majority ownership. Neither side disclosed the percentage acquired or a valuation.
Governance changes alongside the cheque. Glenn Timms joins as non-executive chair through BGF's Talent Network, bringing experience as a former PwC corporate finance partner, a former chief executive of IESA and chair of NoBlue2.
The capital is earmarked for three things: international expansion, deeper investment in the Oracle Fusion practice, and further acquisitions. Redfaire has already been buying, having recently acquired eKal Solutions, a UK-based Oracle Fusion consultancy adding human capital management, enterprise performance management, financials and supply chain capability.
"We built Redfaire by staying close to our customers and taking on their most complex ERP challenges," said McInerney. "BGF's investment is a strong endorsement of that work and of the team behind it. Their backing allows us to accelerate international expansion, further enhance our Oracle Fusion capabilities, and broaden our reach and expertise."
MJ Murphy, the investor at BGF who led the deal, said: "Redfaire is exactly the kind of ambitious, founder-led business that BGF is proud to back."
The transaction is a reminder that not all growth capital in these islands flows to venture-stage software. Redfaire is a 23-year-old services business with an established revenue base, and the deal mechanics reflect that: a minority cheque, an independent chair, and an acquisition mandate, rather than a priced round with preference stacks and dilution for early holders.
For BGF, it extends an Irish portfolio built on the same template. For Redfaire, the test is whether bolt-on acquisitions can be integrated fast enough to justify the new equity in the business.
Original source: TechCentral.ie — https://www.techcentral.ie/redfaire-secures-e13-million-minority-investment-from-bgf-to-power-global-growth/
