August Equity announces its investment in Fargo Systems, marking the second investment in August Equity Partners VI.
August Equity has invested alongside management in Fargo Systems “Fargo” – a leading Transport Management System “TMS” SaaS software business specialising in containerised cargo. August will provide funding to enable the business to continue to scale internationally and expand its service lines for customers.
Headquartered in Ipswich, Fargo is the market leader in TMS software for containerised cargo. It has long-standing relationships with a number of global logistics businesses and its software is used across 22 countries. It provides mission-critical cloud software that enables logistics customers to plan, execute and optimise the movement of goods providing tangible benefits for its customers in terms of automation, cost, ESG and ensuring compliance with regulation. Steve Collins, who joined the business in 2010, will continue to lead Fargo.
The transaction marks the second investment from August Equity Partners VI (“AEP VI”), a 2024 vintage fund. The investment strategy remains consistent with previous funds and is focused on backing high quality management teams in B2B software, technology and services with high organic growth and inorganic potential.
August will invest in the continued organic growth of the business, supplemented with targeted M&A into adjacent service lines and geographies. Fargo represents a strong adjacency to previous August investments in mission critical compliance-driven software businesses, such as Polaris, Agilio, Amtivo, OneTouch and Wax Digital.
The team at August was led by Mike Biddulph, Mickey Patel and Greg Walsh with support from Sam Hardy, Bethany Shiers and Ollie Reynolds.
Steve Collins, Fargo System’s Managing Director, commented: “The Management team and I are excited to partner with August Equity to support us in the next growth phase for Fargo. Fargo’s flagship product “TOPS” is seen as the industry standard for containerised movements in the UK and we already have a substantial international presence. With August’s help we intend to continue to deepen our geographic footprint and add additional functionality for our customers. We are delighted to have found a supportive partner with the vision, expertise and passion to support us on this exciting journey.”
David Lonsdale, Managing Partner at August Equity, commented: “Fargo represents an attractive second platform investment for August Equity Fund VI. It has clear adjacencies to our previous investments in compliance driven software businesses, and we look forward to working with the management team to deliver an array of organic and inorganic growth initiatives using the August Equity playbook.”
August Equity was advised by Travers Smith (legal), PwC (Financial and Tax), Strategy& (commercial), Eight Advisory (tax structuring) and Crosslake (technology).
Fargo Systems was advised by EY (Corporate Finance), Isca Ventures (Corporate Finance), Michelmores (legal) and CIL Management Consultants (commercial).
