Earlier this month, The Translation People, a Manchester-based language service provider (LSP), announced that it has completed a management buyout (MBO).
Mobeus, a London-based investment firm, supported The Translation People’s MBO as a platform investment, making its first investment in the language services industry. Mobeus made a £12.4 million ($15.1 million) investment in The Translation People, citing the company’s strong growth in recent years as just one factor driving its hefty support for the LSP.
“During the investment process Mobeus were encouraged by the passion and work ethic the management team displayed and further enthused by the customer and supplier centric approach and operational rigor demonstrated by the business,” Jordan Kay, an investment manager at Mobeus told MultiLingual.
Mobeus and The Translation People first connected in 2018, when managing director Jasmin Schneider was transitioning into her leadership role. In April 2022, the two organizations reconnected and began focusing on developing an acquisition strategy. The MBO was completed in December 2022 and announced to the public last week.
“We have stayed close to the business since 2018 and are delighted to have been able to track its strong performance through COVID and the continued development of the EU operations,” said Chris Price, one of the Mobeus partners leading the MBO, according to Business Desk. “We are excited to back a buy and build in what is a highly fragmented market.”
Founded more than four decades ago, The Translation People acquired Cicero Translations in 2018 and has offices in the UK, the US, Germany, and France (with the latter two operations making up around 40% of group turnover). According to the company’s website, The Translation People translated nearly 55 million words in 2021.
With backing from Mobeus, The Translation People’s team has its sights set high — as Schneider puts it, the company “aspires to be one of the largest LSPs in the UK.” According to Kay, the company will do so by amping up its acquisition strategy, setting a goal to acquire between six and ten LSPs over the next three to five years.
Additionally, he said the company will further invest in its marketing and sales resources and project management tools. Mobeus also helped the company recruit a new non-executive chair (Steve Dolton) and CFO (Tom Grunwald), expanding the company’s senior leadership.
Mobeus sought advice from several consulting firms to gain insight into different aspects of the investment. The firm worked with Nimdzi Insights to gain a better understanding of the language services industry. As it was the company’s first investment in the language services industry, Kay noted that the folks at Nimdzi “were able to guide us and provide strong benchmarking on the quality of the underlying business.”
“Mobeus are thrilled to be investing into the language services sector and supporting The Translation People,” Kay said.
