County Durham-based Growth Capital Ventures (GCV) has completed an undisclosed pre-seed round in Valius, a proprietary deal flow platform designed to simplify the buying and selling of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Founded by M&A advisors Paul Griffiths and Andrew Botham, Valius currently lists hundreds of businesses for sale, bringing opportunities together under one platform for buyers, sellers and corporate finance advisors.
The investment, facilitated through GCV Interest, GCV’s co-investment syndicate, which provides experienced investors access to private market investment opportunities, will fund further platform development. This includes enhanced search tools, more detailed business information and features to improve the engagement between buyers, sellers and advisors.
GCV will also support Valius through GCV Labs, its venture builder, which will provide expertise across product development, technology, operations and growth. The partnership gives Valius access to GCV’s wider network, experience and operational support.
Founded in 2015 by Craig and Norm Peterson, GCV has previously backed businesses including Atom Bank, QikServe, Intelligence Fusion and n-gage.io through its investor network.
Norm Peterson, co-founder and chief executive of GCV, said: “One of the strengths of the Growth Capital Ventures model is our ability to support founders throughout their growth journey and Valius is a strong example of that approach in action.
“The company is addressing a genuine market need and has a clear vision for how technology can improve the SME acquisitions landscape. We are delighted to have supported the funding round through our syndicate and to be working alongside the founders as the business continues to develop and scale.”
Paul Griffiths, founder of Valius, said: “Buying a business remains one of the most effective routes into entrepreneurship and business ownership, yet the process has changed very little over the years. We have seen first-hand how difficult it can be for buyers to identify suitable opportunities, while sellers and intermediaries continue to rely on fragmented channels and manual processes.
“Our aim with Valius is to make it easier for serious buyers to discover quality opportunities and engage with the market more efficiently. This investment represents an important step in the development and growth of the business.”
