Bristol-based retail management software pioneer Brightpearl has been acquired by enterprise software giant Sage for £223m after spending the past few years recovering from stagnating sales.
Brightpearl supplies more than 1,000 retail customers, including some of the world’s biggest brands in the sector, with its operating system, allowing them to streamline and automate their back office to reduce costs and improve efficiency. 
The firm, which has its global headquarters in Bristol and a US base in Austin, Texas, has partnerships with organisations such as Shopify, eBay and Amazon.
Having launched 14 years ago in Bristol’s highly successful SETsquared innovation incubator, it then struggled to maintain its early momentum and revenues stagnated.
MMC Ventures invested in the business in 2014 and installed a new management team and it went on to raise around £7.4m in 2016 and 11m in 2018 in further funding rounds.
Just over a year ago it also secured a minority investment of approximately £17m from Sage as part of a £25m fundraising round aimed at triggering further international expansion.
Its recovery earned it the ‘Best Business Turnaround’ title in the Management Today Awards earlier this year.
Newcastle-based Sage, which held a 17% minority stake in Brightpearl, said the move would accelerate its growth strategy, broadening its value proposition for mid-sized businesses and expanding its digital network. 
Brightpearl is expected to achieve an operating profit around the breakeven level in the year ending December 2021 on revenues of £20m – around 50% higher than the previous year.
Sage chief executive Steve Hare commented: “Sage’s purpose is to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive. Together, Sage and Brightpearl will remove the barriers that hold back retailers and wholesalers, streamlining their systems and enabling them to focus on growth.
“I’m delighted to welcome Brightpearl, its management team and colleagues to Sage, and look forward to executing on our strategic priorities together and delivering accelerated growth.”
Brightpearl CEO Derek O’Carroll, pictured, who took the helm after the change of ownership in 2014, added: “Bringing our two teams together will help combine the retail strength of Brightpearl and the scale, brand and financial expertise of Sage.”
The transaction is subject to regulatory clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act in the US, and is expected to close in January 2022.
