AND Digital secures £8 million funding from BGF to accelerate digital skills for scaleups and corporates

• British firm is now one of the largest independent providers of digital services in the UK — and, increasingly, Europe 
• New funding led by BGF will create 300-400 digital jobs and accelerate European expansion 
• Customers include enterprises like British Airways, Premier Inn, Costa Coffee, and People’s Postcode Lottery — but also fast-growing tech startups/scaleups (e.g. Gousto, Splink) and the public sector (e.g. HM Courts & Tribunal Service)

London, UK, Thursday 8th April — AND Digital — the British tech consultancy accelerating digital delivery for businesses, providing access to tech talent and helping them build products faster — today announces it has secured £8 million in follow-on funding from BGF, the UK’s most active growth economy investor. This takes total investment in the business to nearly £20 million over the last 12 months. The new funding will enable AND Digital to help more clients address their digital skills shortage by working with them on immediate challenges, and helping them build their own internal capabilities long-term.

BGF’s fresh capital will be used to fast-track expansion in the Benelux region in Europe, as well as further offices (known as ‘clubs’) in Scotland and Manchester. In addition, the company will focus on growing existing clubs in Leeds and London. AND Digital will also invest heavily in increasing its cloud engineering capabilities, aiming to add 300-400 new high-paid digital jobs — including software engineers, product analysts, and UX/UI specialists — over the next 12 months.

Founded in 2014 by Paramjit Uppal, CEO, AND Digital seeks to contribute to closing the world’s digital skills gap by providing businesses with digital talent whilst simultaneously helping them accelerate their permanent digital delivery long-term. The company is now one of the largest independent providers of digital services in the UK — and, increasingly, in Europe. Headquartered in London, the company has 11 clubs across the UK, opening its first overseas club in Amsterdam this summer.

The company’s client portfolio is deliberately diverse, spanning a wide variety of industries and sizes, from large scale enterprises to smaller organisations in both the public and private sector. Clients include industry giants like British Airways, Premier Inn, Costa Coffee, and People’s Postcode Lottery, as well as disruptive startups and scaleups like Gousto (a unicorn) and Splink — plus government departments including HM Courts & Tribunal Service. 

This variety is a key strategic strength, as it allows for the cross-pollination of lessons, ideas and new approaches. AND Digital’s people benefit from a wide range of experiences and applied challenges, while clients benefit from a fertile mix of ideas beyond their immediate sector. 

Commenting on this news, Paramjit Uppal, CEO, said:

“Since our inception, there’s been a pressing need for digital skills to become foundational to every organisation, regardless of sector or size. Now, as Covid-19 persists, we believe even more deeply that every business is now a digital business — with software and data at its core, powered by talent at the heart. I’m excited for AND Digital’s next chapter, powered by BGF; now, we can make essential investments that will fuel our growth further, enabling countless more companies to scale and grow in bold new ways.”

Alex Snodgrass, investor at BGF, said: 

“AND Digital is a brilliant business, leading the pack with its scalable approach to delivering matchless technology services, supporting some of Britain’s biggest enterprises as well as high-growth small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. Having worked with AND Digital as a strategic partner for over a year now, as an investor and board member, we are delighted to support the next stage of the company’s growth journey to further expand across the UK and internationally.”

AND Digital currently employs around 800 people. The company’s decentralised model is built from ‘clubs’, each comprising 80-90people. While clubs are largely autonomous — allowing them to respond quickly to client needs in their portfolio, — they share a common set of values, culture, and operating playbook. This allows AND Digital to combine the best of startup culture with big company resources. With a strong people-first reputation and focus, the company’s rapid growth has been widely recognised, having been recently listed 24th in the Financial Times Top 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe. The company has also appeared on The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies list for several consecutive years and is currently ranked 10th best company to work for in the UK. 

– ENDS –

About AND Digital

AND Digital accelerates the development of world-class digital capabilities. The go-to digital enablement partner for global organisations including British Airways, Gousto, Premier Inn, Costa Coffee, People’s Postcode Lottery, NBrown Group, and IAG Cargo. AND Digital empowers organisations with the ability to build digital products AND grow their internal capability along the way. To achieve this, the company blends technical craft and digital product expertise with an award-winning learning and development ethos. 

Ranked 10th nationally in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies, AND Digital is also rated as one of The Next Web’s Top 5 fastest growing UK tech companies. AND Digital operates through an innovative series of nimble, ‘Clubs’ across the UK in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Reading, Halifax, Manchester, Amsterdam and Maidenhead — offering a flexible and highly responsive service to clients. For more information, please visit: www.and.digital

About BGF

• BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested more than £2.1bn in over 300 companies, making it the most active investor in the UK. 
• BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. 
• BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 14 offices.
• In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – based on BGF’s funding model, and Australia is now actively exploring the approach as well.