London technology company firms up acquisition strategy

Netik, founded in 1997, develops technology that enables financial services to process securities trades from the moment the transactions are started through to reports of the settlement returned to the client. The company offers a data warehouse package, trade reconciliation engines and the SWIFT messaging interface.

Since 1999, the business has bought three US companies – MIC Data Corporation, Lightspeed Data Systems and Montclair Financial Technology. This latest round of investment – Advent Venture Partners invested £8.5m and Warburg Pincus come in for the second time with £2.1m – will enable it to consider additional acquisitions, said the group.

Netik counts a number of financial institutes including blue chip banks and institutions such as <font colorDeutsche Bank, Zurich Financial and the Credit Suisse Group as its clients. For the year ended 31 May 2001, the group, which employs 200 people, recorded revenues of around £13.5m.

Since its foundation in 1981, Advent has funded around 170 companies across Europe and in the US and today manages more than £475m. The Netik investment is the latest commitment from the £300m fund Advent raised in July 2001.