Contact solutions firm Sabio gets big Lyceum venture cash

Customer contact technology specialist and Avaya partner Sabio will “accelerate its growth strategy” after seeing UK growth fund Lyceum Capital take a controlling interest in the firm.

Sabio offers business consulting, systems integration and managed services. In addition to investing in the business, Lyceum will also help drive the company’s growth with £30 million of available funding to support Sabio’s acquisition strategy.

Lyceum aims to double the size of the business over the next three to five years through both organic and acquisition-driven growth plans.

Following completion of the investment, Lee Shorten will continue as Sabio’s chairman and the company’s chief operating officer Andy Roberts will become the company’s new chief executive officer. Sabio’s team of founding directors – Paul Began, Adam Faulkner, Sebastian Henkes and Kenneth Hitchen – will remain investors in the business.

“Partnering with a growth investment specialist firm makes sense for Sabio at this stage in our development as it gives us access to both the funds and expertise we need to accelerate our growth strategy,” said Andy Roberts (pictured).

“How organisations engage with their customers has never been more critical, and there’s a clear international demand for a technology specialist such as Sabio that can help businesses to close the gap between digital and traditional customer contact channels.”

Based in the UK and Singapore, Sabio supports leading customer service organisations through solutions from Avaya, Verint and Nuance.

Sabio customers include DHL, the AA, Liverpool Victoria, Homeserve, Saga, P&O, SSE, Office Depot, Unibet, Eurostar, Leeds City Council and Yorkshire Building Society.

@AntonySavvas