What Scottish Equity Partners does

Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) is a Glasgow-headquartered growth equity and venture capital firm founded in 2000 by Calum Paterson and Stuart Paterson, regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 482807) and structured as Scottish Equity Partners LLP. The firm invests growth capital into enterprise technology companies across the UK and Europe that sell complex software and solutions to the world's largest organisations, with a portfolio spanning financial control (AutoRek), regulatory compliance (FundApps, exited), scientific intelligence (Dotmatics, exited to Siemens for $5.1B in 2025), AI-native insurance technology (mea Platform), manufacturing IIoT (Braincube), customer experience (Content Guru), computational chemistry (Cresset), legal technology (Peppermint Technology, exited to Litera), and API infrastructure (Tyk), among others.

SEP has raised seven funds since inception and invested in over 160 businesses, deploying more than £1 billion of capital cumulatively into companies collectively serving 300+ of the world's largest organisations. The firm's economic model follows the standard private equity structure of recurring management fees on committed capital plus performance-based carried interest (typically ~20% above a hurdle) on successful exits, with deal terms negotiated bilaterally on a deal-by-deal basis. SEP's competitive proposition combines capital with hands-on operational support, board-level involvement, and introductions across its advisor and portfolio CEO network to help founders scale enterprise sales motions and international expansion.

In October 2025, SEP executed a leadership evolution: Calum Paterson became Chairman & Senior Partner, Angus Conroy and Keith Davidson were appointed Co-Managing Partners, Fraser McLatchie became COO, and Tim Ankers was promoted to Partner, signalling succession planning for the next fund cycle.

Name

Scottish Equity Partners

Legal name

Scottish Equity Partners LLP

Website

https://sep.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Scottish Equity Partners is a Glasgow-based growth equity firm founded in 2000 that invests in UK and European enterprise technology companies, deploying over £1 billion across 160+ businesses and 25 years of track record.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Growth Equity / Private Equity Investment

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Sector / Generalist Growth Equity (FSANACAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Growth equity investment
• Venture capital
• Enterprise technology investing
• Private equity firm
• Portfolio company management

Headquarters

HQ city

Glasgow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Annual management fees charged on committed capital under management
2. Carried Interest: Performance-based carried interest from successful portfolio company exits, typically 20% of profits above a hurdle rate

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) is a Glasgow-based growth equity investment firm that provides minority and majority growth capital to enterprise technology companies across the UK and Europe. The firm pairs this capital with hands-on strategic guidance, board-level involvement, value creation plans, and introductions to its network of portfolio CEOs and advisors to help founders scale into the world's largest organisations. SEP has invested more than £1 billion across seven funds into 160+ businesses over 25 years.

Product overview

Scottish Equity Partners (SEP) is a growth equity investment firm that has invested over £1 billion in enterprise technology companies over 25 years. SEP does not offer a unified software product in the traditional sense; rather, its core offering is growth equity investment capital combined with strategic and operational support for portfolio companies. The firm's investment focus spans enterprise software companies serving large global organisations across financial services, life sciences, manufacturing, travel technology, and other verticals. SEP's portfolio includes various independently-branded software companies including AutoRek (financial control and reconciliation), FundApps (regulatory compliance monitoring), Cresset (computational chemistry for drug discovery), Braincube (manufacturing IIoT and data analytics), Enate (process orchestration and AI), Content Guru (customer experience communications), and others. Each portfolio company operates its own distinct product platform, while SEP provides investment services and portfolio company support as its primary offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Growth Equity Investment Provision of growth equity capital (minority and majority) to founder-led enterprise technology companies seeking capital to scale into large global organisations, paired with strategic guidance, board involvement and value creation support.
• Portfolio Company Support & Value Creation Ongoing active management of portfolio companies including strategic guidance on scaling, operational support, network introductions, board-level involvement and exit planning; offered to founders and management teams of SEP-backed enterprise technology businesses.
• Limited Partner Fund Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple successful exits including Dotmatics ($5.1bn Siemens acquisition), FundApps, Peppermint Technology (Litera acquisition), and Zuto (Bridgepoint majority stake)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Notion Capital: Notion Capital is a UK and Europe-focused growth equity firm investing exclusively in enterprise and SaaS companies. Like SEP, it targets mid-to-late stage B2B software businesses solving complex problems for large enterprises, making it a highly comparable UK tech growth peer.
• Highland Europe: Highland Europe is a European technology growth equity firm that invests in mid-to-late stage software and internet-enabled businesses. Its stage focus, geography (Europe) and enterprise software orientation directly overlap with SEP's investment approach.
• Livingbridge: Livingbridge is a UK mid-market private equity firm with a strong technology and growth equity practice. It invests in growing UK and European technology companies at similar stages to SEP, making it a comparable domestic peer.
• Dawn Capital: Dawn Capital is a UK-based venture and growth investor focused exclusively on enterprise B2B SaaS. Like SEP, it concentrates on European enterprise software companies and shares a similar deal sourcing and value-creation orientation.
• Summit Partners: Summit Partners is a global growth equity firm with deep experience investing in technology and healthcare companies. Its stage focus, enterprise software orientation and pattern of backing companies to liquidity are closely comparable to SEP's model, though Summit operates at significantly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Insight Partners: Insight Partners is one of the largest global software-focused investment firms, investing across venture, growth and public stages. It is a broader incumbent that increasingly competes with SEP for European enterprise software deals at the growth stage.
• Permira: Permira is a global private equity firm with a sizeable technology investment franchise in Europe. It is a broader incumbent that competes with SEP for European enterprise software and tech-enabled growth deals.
• Apax Partners: Apax Partners is a global private equity firm with deep European technology and software investing heritage. It is a broader incumbent that competes with SEP for mid-to-large European tech growth opportunities.

Emerging players

• OpenOcean: OpenOcean is a UK and Nordics-focused venture and growth investor targeting enterprise software companies. It is a smaller, emerging player with partial overlap to SEP in European B2B software investing.
• Molten Ventures: Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit) is a UK and European technology investor focused on high-growth software and consumer tech companies. It is an emerging public peer with some overlap to SEP's enterprise and growth-stage tech focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/84929
• Xx.com/SEPInvestment

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments168 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scottish Equity Partners