London, UK, 22 March 2022: Alpha Development, a leading specialist financial training provider, today announces that it has secured substantial investment from BGF.
The investment will support Alpha’s current growth plans, including further expansion into the United States, enhancement of Alpha’s product and go-to-market strategy.
Founded by Ian Dawson in 2003 but now headed by CEO Paul Monk, and with offices in London, New York, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, Alpha is dedicated to developing the careers of financial professionals worldwide.
Its core product is specialist Early Careers, Sales, Management & Leadership development for blue-chip financial services institutions, including the world’s top Investment Banks.
Alpha’s market-leading hybrid training programmes have helped the company carve out a niche in the £4.7 billion financial services’ learning and development market. Growth to date has been driven by its partnership approach and long-term customer relationships, the strength of its product suite, and the delivery of complex global programmes at scale.
Jonathan Tate, current non-executive Chairman of both Turnkey Consulting and Certo Aerospace and former PwC Technology partner will join the Board as Chairman on completion.
Commenting on the investment, Paul Monk, CEO of Alpha said: “Since Alpha was founded almost 20 years ago, much has changed in the financial & professional industries that we support – and our firm has evolved accordingly. However, Alpha’s culture of building long-term partnerships with our clients – and providing next-generation solutions to the challenges they face – remains the same.”
“This investment supports our next phase of delivering for clients. We are excited to partner with BGF, which has a proven track record of facilitating ambitious growth plans. The investment will support our US market expansion to localise support for US clients, accelerate our product development roadmap (especially in digital), and expand our senior leadership team with a specific focus on further EdTech expertise.”
Rahul Satsangi, investor at BGF, said: “As newer, hybrid forms of training begin to reshape financial education, there is strong demand for specialist providers that can keep pace with a rapidly changing workforce. In Alpha, we saw a business with best-in-class training materials and an established client base, with a significant opportunity to expand both organically and through acquisitions.
“Alpha is ideally positioned to leverage its existing product catalogue and hybrid offering to penetrate new markets and expand its foothold in existing markets.”
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About Alpha Development Founded by Ian Dawson in 2003, Alpha Development (Alpha) is a specialist Early Careers, Sales, Management & Leadership training provider for blue-chip financial services institutions (incl. the world’s top Investment Banks). Alpha’s USP is its ability to design and deliver complex global training programmes at scale, with insightful content and a partnership approach to driving value for its customers. Alpha specialises in the delivery of complex global financial training programmes, supporting investment banking and asset management L&D departments in both the design and delivery of training.
About BGF BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested over £3bn in more than 460 companies, making it the most active growth capital investor in the UK. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 16 offices. In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2020, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s approach and funding model.
Part of BGF’s investment in Alpha Development comes from its recently launched UK Enterprise Fund (UKEF) established alongside Coutts, the private banking arm of NatWest, to provide clients with access to privately held, disruptive and diverse companies that are revolutionising their industries.
See: www.bgf.co.uk.
