Inflexion is pleased to announce that it has agreed the acquisition of Marlowe plc’s Governance, Risk & Compliance software and services assets (“GRC”) in a transaction valued at £430m. The investment is being made by Inflexion’s Buyout Fund VI.

Founded in 2019, Marlowe’s GRC division provides software and tech-enabled services to manage business risks and ensure customers remain compliant with legal & regulatory standards. With five business lines, Compliance eLearning, Regulatory Intelligence, Risk Management Software, Employment Compliance and ISO services, the business delivers compliance to both SMEs and large global enterprises.

As part of the transaction, Alex Dacre, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Marlowe, will step down from Marlowe to become Chief Executive Officer of GRC. Together with Inflexion’s support, the standalone business will pursue an ambitious organic growth strategy through cross-selling of services, launching new software and investment in sales and marketing. This will be complemented by M&A to broaden the product offering and support international growth.

Inflexion has a strong track record in carve-outs and this will be the fifth carve-out in three years following investments into GlobalData, Curinos, aosphere and Giacom. In addition, Inflexion brings strong sector knowledge and experience including its investment in Alcumus which was sold to Apax Partners LLP in 2022 for over £600m and which Inflexion subsequently made a minority investment to support the business’s continued growth.

This Governance, Risk and Compliance business operates in a fragmented, high growth market and has the potential to scale into a global leader. We look forward to utilising our strong sector experience and working with the management team to accelerate it’s growth both organically and through M&A.

Flor Kassai, Partner and Head of Buyout, Inflexion

We are excited to be partnering with Inflexion to take our GRC business into its next phase of growth. Inflexion’s strong sector experience will be invaluable as we look to grow the business in both the UK and internationally.

Alex Dacre, CEO and Founder, Marlowe