• Mayfair will acquire a majority stake in Jonckers for an undisclosed sum
• Mayfair will partner with management to accelerate growth, including the roll-out of Jonckers’ AI-driven WordsOnline platform, bolt-on M&A, investment in technology, and new market entry
• Global language service provider (“LSP”) market is benefiting from positive tailwinds driven by the adoption of AI and growing demand for localized content

LONDON, March 31, 2023 – Mayfair Equity Partners (“Mayfair”), a dedicated consumer and technology investor with £1.8 billion in assets under management, is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Jonckers (“the Company”), a leading global tech-enabled language services provider (“LSP”). 

Founded in 1994, Jonckers is a leading LSP that employs over 150 people across the UK, US, EU, and Asia and has a longstanding, global blue chip client base including Microsoft, Adobe, and Amazon. The Company is led by Silke Zschweigert (CEO) and Dominic Kinnon (COO), who joined in 2019 and have over four decades of language services industry experience between them. Under their leadership, Jonckers has delivered substantial top and bottom-line growth, providing translation services across Europe and Asia, while rapidly expanding in its largest market, North America. 

Jonckers’ growth has been driven by its proprietary technology platform WordsOnline, which utilizes AI-powered processes to translate content five times faster and at half the cost of traditional translation services. WordsOnline is disrupting the LSP market and is part of a broader trend where the adoption of AI and an increasing demand for localized content are creating favorable sector tailwinds. Current estimates are that the LSP industry is growing at 6% per annum and is expected to reach a value of c. $80 billion by 2025. 

Working in close partnership, Jonckers and Mayfair will focus on a number of value accretive growth opportunities including investment in product and technology innovation, driving commercial and customer success, and growing Jonckers’ international presence. Mayfair and Jonckers also see an opportunity for the Company to become a consolidator in the industry and are seeking exciting bolt-on acquisitions to diversify Jonckers’ service offering and market reach.

“Mayfair has an impressive track record of helping technology-driven companies scale up and we’re pleased to be partnering with them to deliver Jonckers’ exciting growth plan”, said Silke Zschweigert, CEO of Jonckers. “This will include new product innovation, further internationalization, organic growth, and a significant focus on transformative M&A. Throughout this, our mission will remain the same: to deliver market-leading translations at the best price, the fastest turnaround and optimal quality levels, so that our customers can go global faster.”

“The translation services market has been undergoing a steady digital revolution, with Jonckers leading the way in innovation and client services,” said Markus Zejermann, Director at Mayfair Equity Partners. “By bringing together Jonckers’ unique, AI-powered WordsOnline platform, and Mayfair’s active partnership approach, we have an opportunity to turbo-charge the business’ growth and cement Jonckers’ position as the go-to provider of innovative translation services.”

“The language services industry is a highly fragmented and often analogue sector. Jonckers is a digital champion, delivering rapid growth underpinned by increasing demand for hyper-localized content,” said Waqqas Ahmed, Partner at Mayfair Equity Partners. “Since our first meeting with Jonckers, we have been impressed by their ambition and capacity for innovation. They operate at the forefront of AI-enabled services, and we are looking forward to partnering with Silke, Dominic, and the whole team to build a global technology leader in the LSP market.”

About Jonckers and WordsOnline

Jonckers was established in 1994 as a privately owned language services provider. In 2015 the company developed a cloud-based AI platform for continuous localization called WordsOnline. It was created to reduce cost and translate big volumes, within a small timeframe. Jonckers has a curated, trained, and managed multilingual community that can scale in size, domain knowledge and skills. It deploys these resources to support companies who want to launch their products in global markets faster.

About Mayfair Equity Partners

Mayfair Equity Partners is a dedicated technology and consumer investor, with assets under management of over £1.8 billion. Mayfair’s investment philosophy centers on backing people and their ideas, working in Active Partnership with founders and management teams to help them realize their ambitions. Mayfair’s model of Active Partnership includes a senior team of dedicated functional Specialists who support portfolio companies with business process improvement initiatives that help unlock their full potential.

Mayfair has an established track record in supporting fast-growing and sector-defining companies, including LoopMe, a leading brand-focused mobile advertising platform, Snowfox Group, a leading international, multi-channel Japanese food business, and Tangle Teezer, the category defining British haircare brand. For more information, please visit www.mayfairequity.com.

About Nimdzi Insights

Nimdzi Insights’ M&A division acted as an advisor to Mayfair in the approach to this investment. As M&A brokers, Nimdzi specialists are regularly involved in large, complex and industry-defining transactions, supporting all forms of buyers, sellers and investors from around the world.
Visit www.nimdzi.com/mergers-acquisitions to consult their M&A specialists.