OakNorth supports Longacre Group’s investment in Veracity UK Limited

Posted to News on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 Share:

OAKNORTH – THE ‘digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs’ – has provided debt facilities of £11 million to long-term investment company Longacre Group to acquire a majority stake in Veracity (the global provider of network connectivity products and surveillance systems) and to fund ongoing working capital requirements of the business.

Founded back in 2014 by Stani Schmidt-Chiari and Elliott Nicholson, Longacre Group is a UK-headquartered group of highly specialised products and services companies employing in excess of 1,000 individuals worldwide in its core sectors of business services, healthcare products and services, technical manufacturing and speciality chemicals.

Founded in 2005 in Prestwick, Scotland, Veracity boasts a global presence with offices across the UK, North America, the Middle East, India and Malaysia. Veracity offers a comprehensive and highly specialised product range of critical components, sub-systems and completely integrated solutions which solve transmission, storage and display challenges in IP video surveillance systems.

Longacre Group was advised my MDW Capital on the debt financing.

Accelerate growth plans

Commenting on the transaction, Alastair McLeod (CEO of Veracity) observed: “Our mission has always been to connect, integrate and control a diverse set of security products, including the provision of complete and cyber-secure video surveillance solutions and security management systems. These systems operate in very demanding, high-end security and Critical National Infrastructure sectors and are delivered alongside our extensive range of market-leading IP transmission products.”

McLeod added: “The support from Longacre Group and the financial backing that has been received from OakNorth will help to accelerate our growth plans in the future.”

Flexible investment strategy

Stani Schmidt-Chiari, co-CEO and founder of Longacre Group, responded: “Longacre Group prides itself on its flexible investment strategy and the value we can bring through our in-house team of operating partners. We are delighted to be able to support Veracity on its next stage of growth. It has been a pleasure working with Stewart and the OakNorth team who were highly entrepreneurial throughout the entire transaction. Their speed of execution helped us complete our investment on an extremely tight timetable.”

Stewart Haworth, director of debt finance at OakNorth, added: “We are delighted to support such a well-established investment house with a proven investment track record. The global video surveillance market is set for significant growth over the next five years, driven by increasing security demands in both the private and public arenas. Veracity is in a prime position to capitalise on this tailwind following its investment from Longacre Group. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with both Veracity and Longacre Group in the future.”