Aberdeen private equity house Maven Capital Partners has led a £2.75 million investment in the specialist IT security business Flow Communications Limited.

Based in Apsley, near Hemel Hempstead, Flow provides flexible networking security solutions to customers throughout the UK and Europe.

The business offers clients a complete end-to-end service, aimed at maximizing the business value of IT, improving the flow of information and protecting key infrastructure.

Services range from audits of existing networks through to the design of an entire IT architecture with key systems in place to protect vital networks, infrastructure and data assets from intrusion and disruption. Flow also offers ongoing support, partnering with a number of blue-chip IT hardware manufacturers to provide a highly-tailored support service.

Established in 2008 by entrepreneur Nick Sonigra, Flow has enjoyed year-on-year growth, helped in part by operating in one of the fastest growing subsectors of the IT industry, forecast to be worth over £3.4 billion by 2017.

Nick leads a young but highly experienced management team which was recently enhanced by the appointment of Ash Hussain as Sales Director. Ash was previously Managing Director of Axial Systems where he helped grow sales to £21 million.

The huge shift towards cloud computing and big data, alongside the prevalence of social networks, means that IT security is increasingly critical for businesses. As a result Flow’s clients continually require support and upgrades to IT infrastructure, in order to reduce the inherent associated risks.

The funding from Maven will enable the business to increase its sales team to help accelerate organic growth, and to build scale through a buy-and-build strategy.

Andrew Ferguson, Partner at Maven, said: “In Flow we are backing an ambitious business operating in a market that has significant growth opportunities. Flow has built up a reputation for technical expertise and excellent customer service, and we share its vision that the business is well placed to drive further growth. We are excited to be working as equity partners with Nick and his team.”

Nick Sonigra, managing director at Flow Communications, added: “We’re delighted to be working with the Maven team, it’s a great opportunity for us to accelerate our growth plans. We have built a strong business since the company’s formation in 2008, and this transaction provides a great foundation for the next phase in our development. With Maven’s experience of supporting buy-and-build strategies we believe they are the perfect funding partner to help us deliver on our vision for Flow. ”

Lead advisers to the transaction were Orbis Corporate Finance. Financial due diligence was conducted by Grant Thornton, commercial due diligence by CIL, insurance due diligence by IMI Insurance, and management referencing by Korn Ferry.

Maven’s legals were handled by Gateleys, and Freeths acted for management.