A Wise move as tech specialist strikes investment deal

Self-employment technology specialist, Wise, has reached an investment agreement with one of the UK 's leading mid-market private investment firms.

The investment has seen Inflexion purchase a minority stake in the award-winning business which was founded just two years ago.

With offices in Solihull and London, Wise creates technology to improve the self-employment experience for both companies and individual subcontractors, with a key focus on the UK logistics and courier industry.

The Wise platform is currently used by over 250 logistics firms and over 14,000 self-employed drivers to manage everything from onboarding to document storage and compliance.

This investment and expertise from Inflexion will support Wise as it continues to rapidly grow its integrated platform into new sectors within self-employment such as construction and private-hire.

Wise will also now benefit from the expertise of the Inflexion team in advising medium-sized companies on their growth trajectory.

With a current team of 50 technology specialists, Wise 's platform supports a network of last-mile delivery providers who work with carriers such as Amazon, DPD, Hermes and more.

Simon Hills, CEO of Wise, said: “Since founding Wise, we've been on a truly incredible journey. We've brought together a team of 50 talented individuals and built a business we're all proud of.

“Now, with this investment from Inflexion, we're excited to move on to the next stage of the Wise journey. We'll continue to improve the technology for our existing clients while we roll out our intuitive platform to a variety of new sectors. ”

This private investment news comes shortly after the firm was named Digital Startup of The Year at the 2021 West Midlands Tech Awards.

Simon Turner, managing partner at Inflexion, said: “In a short space of time Wise has established itself as an emerging champion catering to the growing demand from the intersection of self-employment and last-mile logistics.

“An explosive e-commerce market combined with Wise 's market-leading offering make the business extremely well placed to continue its impressive growth. ”

Wise was advised on the deal by Titan Partners Group and its founder, Mike Henebery, who originated the transaction.

The technology firm was also supported on the deal by a legal team led by Graham Muth and Andy Lawton-Smith, corporate partners at Fieldfisher Birmingham.