Our approach to investing
HgT’s investments are managed by Hg (‘the Manager’), a leading investor in European and transatlantic technology and services businesses, focused on building transatlantic champions that provide critical services for many thousands of businesses globally.
Hg a tech investor that has both a strong European heritage and scaled presence across North America. By investing in the future – Hg helps to progress workplace automation and AI trends now entering a new phase of acceleration, but still in the early stages of adoption and set to transform the workplace for professionals over decades to come.
The Manager
Build better, and what you build will last. It will stand stronger, reach further, rise higher. It will endure.
Over 25 years Hg has helped companies navigate successive waves of technology change to build enduring champions. We come to work every day to find companies with great potential and work alongside entrepreneurial leaders, with modern, well-invested products and clear transformation theses, to build enduring champions that are ready for what’s ahead.
Hg has over 430 employees across London, Munich, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Singapore a current portfolio of around 60 businesses, worth over $185 billion in aggregate enterprise value, with +130,000 employees globally, consistently growing revenues at more than 18% annually.
Leading private equity in AI transformation. We build businesses that redefine how people work.
Hg’s portfolio represents one of the largest software ecosystems actively deploying AI at scale, with over 60 companies and a scaled team of specialists, we help businesses navigate major platform shifts - and build for what comes next.
Everything, everywhere, but not all at once: Matthew Brockman on what’s really happening in software right now
Hg at a glance
years of investing
proceeds returned from technology and services businesses since 2001 at 3.0x gross MOIC / 31% gross IRR
total investments
assets under management
SECTOR SPECIALISTS
Sector specialists in technology and services
Hg specialises in investing in technology and services companies focused on eight core end markets (or ‘clusters’), with enterprise values of between £100 million and more than £10 billion. This provides exposure to a portfolio of >60 companies diversified by end market and geography – worth >$185 billion in aggregate enterprise value, with >130,000 employees globally.
Hg offers a deep level of understanding and expertise in these businesses.
Technology
Technology is Hg’s largest sector of investment and is primarily focussed on businesses providing B2B vertical market application software and data, regulatory software, fintech and internet infrastructure.
Hg has invested in high-quality market leaders which have strong sector reputations and diverse customer bases, and which feature subscription‑based business models generating predictable revenues and cash flows. The Manager brings a unique set of networks and insights to help support value creation in these businesses.
Services
Hg’s services investments focus on companies with high levels of intellectual property, large, fragmented customer bases, long-term and stable customer relationships, and businesses which provide business‑critical services, preferably on a repeat or recurrent basis.
The Manager targets businesses with strong reputations within a niche, and aims to grow and scale these businesses, either organically within existing markets or through acquisitions.
THE Hg ‘SWEET-SPOT’ MODEL
The Hg ‘sweet-spot’ model
Hg has a clear and robust business model, focused on long-term, consistent and defensive growth, predominantly through investment in buyouts located throughout Europe and North America. Hg seeks companies which share similar characteristics, often providing a platform for merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities.
The Manager believes that such companies have the potential for significant performance improvement, offering value creation support to the portfolio management teams.
How Hg creates value
Operational expertise across a wide range of areas reflects where Hg sees repeat value creation opportunities.
Data and AI
Harnessing the potential of data and AI is a critical competitive advantage for any business. Hg is deploying AI-first transformation across engineering, HR, finance, legal and support functions - enabling step-change productivity.
Hg has been building its in-house AI expertise for close to a decade. This brings Hg's focus and scale to bear to support the future-facing companies we work with.
The Manager’s value creation team contains a group of more than 100 AI experts, with 20 in-house specialists working alongside more than 80 supporting AI engineers and specialists - operating with startup intensity across engineering, HR, finance, legal and support functions . Through Hg Catalyst, Hg’s AI incubator, we build and ship agentic AI products at speed.
Growth
Growth naturally sits at the centre of everything Hg does.
The Hg Growth Team views the often-disconnected disciplines of Marketing, Sales, Pricing, Customer Success and beyond as all parts of a single impulse. Companies cannot grow without taking these all into account. The team supports the aspirations of Hg’s portfolio by applying this approach with a long-term lens at every level – from strategy to projects - with experts and practitioners providing hands-on and collaborative support to share knowledge and realise value creation initiatives.
Product and engineering
Product Management and Engineering combined are the engine room in modern technology companies.
Hg's Product Leaders support their portfolio counterparts in driving robust customer and market driven analysis of what their products need to do and why. Hg understands these needs and support their portfolio colleagues in designing and deploying the most appropriate technology solutions. Collectively they are accountable for maximising the commercial opportunity, delighting the customer and creating awesome software.
Cyber
Protecting Hg’s investments is crucial in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals and other malicious actors.
The Hg Cyber Security Team assesses the capabilities of all portfolio companies on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are adequately protected against current cyber threats. Given that defenders are in an arms race against attackers, the team drive and enable our portfolio companies to improve continuously through knowledge sharing, programme management, deep subject matter expertise, and our network of specialised partners.
Business systems
It's no surprise that an organisation's foundation relies on its system architecture.
Hg helps a growing company realise the benefits of establishing and maintaining a modern, integrated, and scalable stack of business systems. Through business process automation, data-driven decision making and operational scalability, the Hg team of experts bring extensive experience to drive impact and generate value.
Sustainability
Hg’s approach to sustainability is grounded in how best to create enduring value in the businesses it invests in. This supports principles that underpin sustainable business practices, as they are often also practical drivers of value:
- Good governance prevents costly mistakes
- Resource efficiency saves money
- Effective risk management protects your business
- Thoughtful people practices help you attract and keep the best talent
- Maintaining strong relationships with all stakeholders strengthens your market position
The sustainability team focus on three key topics and associated sub-topics as part of Hg’s Sustainable Business framework:
- Business integrity
- People Excellence
- Stewardship
Hg's RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT POLICY about Sustainability page
Finance & FP&A
Financial health is the lifeblood of any business with long-term success in its sights.
Looking at more than just the numbers, the Hg Finance & Operations Team takes a holistic view of the business of the portfolio companies, connecting the dots across departments, functions, and timescales to support the growth, productivity, and efficiency aspirations of these investments. With skills in planning, modelling, forecasting, accounting, go-to-market, analysis, and operations, the team stands ready to assist in multiple ways. As part of Hg’s broader Value Creation Team, they bring hands-on knowledge, expertise, best practices, and tenacity to assist in furthering the ambitions and realisation of the investments’ value creation initiatives.
Legal
Helping legal teams reach full potential, enabling them to align with business ambitions and deliver outcomes supporting key initiatives.
Hg provides hands-on support across the Hg journey from guidance towards best-in-class compliance policies and how to professionalise by adopting legal tech and operational efficiencies, through to access to expertise on data privacy, M&A and anti-trust. With a network of around 50 like-minded GCs sharing best practice and the full-time support of Hg’s dedicated legal team, portfolio companies will be on the fast-track to becoming a top-tier, professionalised legal franchise adding real value to their businesses.
Talent org and HR
The HR & Talent team focus on helping the family of companies grow value through people.
Hg’s expert HR and Talent Team provides support from C-Suite programmes through to full organisational design. Working with CEOs and CHROs to ensure that teams, structures and individuals in growing organisations are positioned for success. Working with the portfolio businesses to have the right leaders, organisations and HR frameworks to thrive.
Further links
Driving AI Transformation
Responsible investing