Members of Bristol Private Equity Club are celebrating after a videogame developer and publisher backed in its early days has successfully sold for a minimum of £6 million. Established entrepreneurs who are members of BPEC, saw the potential of Auroch Digital, which was founded by Tomas and Debbie Rawlings in Bristol in 2010. They invested £200,000 into the business three years ago to help fund new original IP (Intellectual Property) games.
Auroch Digital has now been acquired by Sheffield-based Sumo Group plc, who were attracted by the world-leading work in Bristol. Jerry Barnes, founder of Bristol Private Equity Club said: “We backed a very small company, enabling it to grow from 15 people to 48 and now that backing has come to fruition. “It is a life-changing moment for the founders and also sees the Club members that backed them receive at least four times return on their investment. Depending on future performance there could be up to ten times return. “Our investments are almost always with businesses at the forefront of technology and development. Game development has emerged from relatively humble beginnings to become a major worldwide growth industry. We saw the potential of Auroch Digital early on and our members backed it. “It has proved a fantastic return for our investors. BPEC has invested £10 million in the last five years into South West growth businesses.” Dr. Tomas Rawlings, founder and studio director of Auroch Digital, said: “We are delighted at the backing we had from Bristol Private Equity Club members when we really needed funds to build the business. “This deal is a life-changing moment for us and the next step on our business journey. To receive backing from well-established Bristol-based entrepreneurs gave us the boost we needed to get us to the success we are celebrating today.”
Further details of Bristol Private Equity Club can be found at www.bristolprivateequityclub.com