CREATING VALUE TOGETHER – OUR FIRST YEAR WITH SMARTSEARCH
We have reached our one-year milestone since we signed SmartSearch, our first investment in Triple Fund I. What a year it has been, and what a good time to reflect on the significant progress, notable successes, and even the inevitable hurdles that we have navigated together, and to offer a glimpse into the future that we share for SmartSearch.
ORIGINS OF THE PARTNERSHIP
SmartSearch stands out as a leading AML/KYC platform in the UK, currently empowering 7,500+ customers with crucial AML individual checks, robust Identity Verification, and comprehensive KYC solutions.
With roots tracing back to the early 2000s in Ilkley, UK, SmartSearch was a true pioneer, automating AML/KYC processes that were previously time-consuming manual tasks. Fuelled by increasing regulatory demands, the clear need for automation, and their exceptional service offerings coupled with strong customer support, SmartSearch has achieved remarkable and sustained growth, particularly within professional services firms like lawyers, real estate agents, and accountants.
SmartSearch perfectly aligned with Triple’s investment criteria, and our initial meetings with their management team in November 2023 revealed a company poised for its next phase of expansion. They were seeking a specialist investor to support their ambitions, including accelerating growth within larger clients, strategically driving partnerships, and exploring potential M&A opportunities. From our very first interaction, we were able to demonstrate our deep sector knowledge and our proven ability to create tangible value, leading to our investment in April 2024.
According to Mads Hansen, Head of Investments and Managing & Founding Partner at Triple Private Equity: “SmartSearch, being market leader in GRC in the UK, represents a great first investment for Triple; the fit between Triple and SmartSearch became apparent from the outset of our engagement, setting the basis for a fruitful collaboration.”
CREATING VALUE WITH SMARTSEARCH FROM DAY #1
Our core philosophy of ‘hands-on value creation’ was immediately put into action at SmartSearch. Phil Cotter, a Triple Advisor and former Head of Third-Party Risk at LSEG, stepped in as CEO, bringing invaluable experience and leadership. Phil, alongside the entire SmartSearch Executive Team, has been very receptive to our partnership, allowing us to actively contribute to driving value across key areas as well as achieving positive results across multiple Triple Value Creation levers:
TALENT: Under Phil's leadership, we onboarded key leadership talent, including a new Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and Chief Financial Officer – all within a matter of months. Triple’s Head of HR & Portfolio Talent, Rachael Rogers, also provided crucial support as Interim Chief People Officer until a permanent hire was made in February 2025. Importantly, we also worked to retain key talent and the valuable expertise of long-standing SmartSearch team members.
GO-TO-MARKET (GTM) AND SALES: SmartSearch’s new Chief Revenue Officer, Paul Eddie, has brought his extensive experience from Experian and Thomson Reuters to significantly upgrade sales processes and implement best practices, with a strong focus on commercial excellence and discipline. Furthermore, he has strategically restructured the GTM approach by aligning resources into vertical customer ‘pods’, thereby strengthening SmartSearch’s value proposition within specific sectors. We are already seeing positive results, with SmartSearch successfully expanding its reach into larger organizations within its core professional services segment and actively entering new markets such as financial services and insurance.
COMMERCIAL AND OPERATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS: Recognizing the power of collaboration, SmartSearch, with our support, has hired an experienced Partnerships Director to strategically build and nurture an ecosystem of trusted partners. This focus will further enhance the product offering and significantly expand SmartSearch’s distribution capabilities.
MARKET INTELLIGENCE AND DATA ANALYSIS: We have supported SmartSearch’s investment in advanced tools and data automation to enhance decision-making regarding commercial opportunities and strategic priorities. This has already led to more informed and efficient choices in these critical areas.
Ben Shepherd, Head of Value Creation & Founding Partner at Triple Private Equity, notes: “I have been impressed by how much has been achieved by SmartSearch over this year and by the level of collaboration with the Triple Value Creation team; this has allowed SmartSearch to drive change, whilst delivering impressive performance.”
A YEAR OF TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH
With support from the Triple team, the past year has been one of significant evolution for SmartSearch on multiple fronts and Triple Value Creation levers. This includes commercials, Governance and KPIs, Partnership introductions and negotiations and M&A assessments as well as contributions to SmartSearch’s strategic vision – all aimed at supporting their ambitious growth plans. As a result, SmartSearch achieved very strong financial results for 2024, delivering double-digit revenue growth and substantial margin expansion.
We at Triple are proud to have played a role in these achievements. Furthermore, SmartSearch’s consistent growth has been recognized externally, earning them a prestigious place as a Long-Term Growth Champion by the Financial Times and Statista in 2024, highlighting their impressive average 31 per cent year-on-year growth over the past decade and market-leading position.
According to Phil Cotter, CEO of SmartSearch: “We have put in place the foundations to enable us to accelerate the growth of SmartSearch and enable our customers to grow their businesses with confidence.”
WHAT IS NEXT FOR 2025
Both Triple and SmartSearch are genuinely excited about the opportunities that lie ahead in 2025. SmartSearch’s recent company-wide All Hands event successfully aligned the entire team around the company’s ambitious goals and their compelling new vision: ‘Win customers through trusted identities’.
At Triple, we are highly impressed by SmartSearch’s strong financial performance and the exceptional ‘one team’ collaboration we have fostered. This demonstrates Triple’s commitment to providing ‘hands-on value creation’ support to our portfolio companies, a core tenet and key differentiator for us as a manager.
We look forward to continuing the successful partnership in the coming year!