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€75M BDO DEVELOPMENT CAPITAL FUND ANNOUNCES FIRST INVESTMENT

IT SERVICES COMPANY VERSION 1 RECEIVES €8M TO DRIVE INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Up to 100 additional jobs to be created with support from Department of

Jobs through Enterprise Ireland

28 July 2014

The BDO Development Capital Fund today (Monday) announced its first

investment since the launch of the €75million fund by the Minister for

Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, in March this year. The

Fund managed by Development Capital, a 100% subsidiary of BDO, has invested

€8 million in Version 1, one of Ireland’s fastest growing IT services

companies.

This project is supported by the Department of Jobs through Enterprise

Ireland.

The investment will enable Version 1’s further expansion into the UK and

creation of up to 100 additional IT consultancy jobs in Ireland. The BDO

Development Capital Fund provides development and growth capital for

established, mid-sized and profitable companies to assist them to achieve

and accelerate their export-led growth plans.

Version 1 was founded in 1996 by Justin Keatinge and is today one of the

fastest growing IT services companies in Western Europe. The company has

grown organically to become a trusted technology partner to major domestic

and international customers across all industry sectors in the UK and

Ireland. The company has doubled both profitability and revenue over the

last few years, while at the same time delivering consistent improvement in

customer satisfaction and world-class employee engagement.

The BDO Development Capital Fund forms part of the Government’s Development

Capital Scheme, an initiative under the Action Plan for Jobs through which

a total of €225million is being made available to mid-sized Irish companies

with significant growth potential. As part of this Scheme, €75million in

funds from the Department of Jobs through Enterprise Ireland will be

matched with €150million of private sector funding for investments in Irish

companies through a series of different funds.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said: “At

the heart of the Action Plan for Jobs is supporting the development of a

powerful engine of Irish exporting enterprise. We have put in place a range

of measures to deliver this, including the establishment with support from

my Department of €225million Development Capital Scheme to support growing

mid-sized Irish companies and help them become the large employers of the

future. Today’s announcement shows the concrete benefits of this scheme.

Here is an successful Irish IT company, already growing rapidly in export

markets, which as a result of today’s investment will have access to more

growth capital and expertise, enabling it grow faster and create more jobs

in Ireland. I am delighted to welcome the up to 100 additional jobs Version

1 will create as a result of the investment announced today, real tangible

benefits for the Irish economy from the ingenuity of our businesses with

support from Government”.

Announcing the Fund’s first investment, Sinead Heaney, founding Director of

The BDO Development Capital Fund said:

“Version 1 is an excellent example of a growth focused, market-leading,

Irish company - the type of company that this fund was set up to support.

Throughout our process, we have been hugely impressed by Version 1’s

management team and their track record of achievement. We are delighted to

be joining the founder and management team to further accelerate the growth

of the business.”

Discussing potential future investments by the BDO Development Capital

Fund, Ms. Heaney added:

”We have been impressed with the level of enquires for funding from

businesses across all sectors but in particular food and agri, ICT and

medical devices since we launched. These enquires are from businesses with

significant export opportunities and ambitious management teams who have

the drive and confidence to take on the funding to accelerate their growth

plans. We look forward to making further announcements in relation to the

Funds’ investments in the coming months.

Version 1 founder Justin Keatinge said:

“Version 1 is enjoying a very exciting stage. Today’s announcement provides

us with the investment needed to take our growth and planned development

through acquisition. We are a results driven organization, which prides

itself on helping our partners strive for excellence in their areas of

expertise. We can also now tap into the expertise that comes with The BDO

Development Capital Fund ; the support of both the Fund’s advisory panel

members and the Fund’s Corporate Partners, Bank of Ireland, Glen Dimplex,

CRH and Glanbia. The Development Capital team have a wealth of experience

in supporting growing businesses such as ours which was a key factor for

Version 1. I would also like to thank and acknowledge Goodbody’s and Maples

and Calder for their support.

ENDS

Note for editors: Photographs are available (after 1pm).

For reference:

For BDO Development Capital Fund:

Conor Dempsey

Dempsey Corporate

Tel: +353-(0)86-247 9892/ E-mail: conor.dempsey@dempseycorporate.com

For Version 1:

Paul Allen: 0035316769575 / 00353872575700

Patrick Jones: 0035316769575 / 00353872928140

Paul Allen & Associates

For Minister Bruton: Press Office, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and

Innovation, 01-6312200, press.office@djei.ie

About the BDO Development Capital Fund & Development Capital Limited

The BDO Development Capital Fund is a €75 million Fund aimed at investing

development and growth capital in established, mid-sized and profitable

companies to support and accelerate their export growth plans. The Fund is

managed by Development Capital, a 100% subsidiary of BDO.

Development Capital has created a unique and unprecedented smart funding

model centred on a partnership approach that, in addition to substantial

capital, will give the selected companies access to advice and

international contacts from a range of large Irish corporate and senior

business executives. The corporate partners to the fund include Bank of

Ireland, CRH plc, Glanbia plc and Glen Dimplex. The fund will be invested,

over a period of three years, in approximately 15 companies. The Fund will

invest between €2million and €10million for an investment term of five

years.

BDO Smart Funding Model and Advisory Board Led by Investment Directors

Sinead Heaney and Andrew Bourg, the team at Development Capital have

developed a unique Smart Funding Model for the BDO Development Capital Fund

that combines capital with access to, both corporate and executive

experience as well as international contacts. The fund capital sources

include Enterprise Ireland, Bank of Ireland, CRH plc, Glanbia plc and Glen

Dimplex.

This unique approach combines to create a broad and deep bank of

international business experience for investee companies to draw upon. In

addition to the Corporate Partners who have committed both funding and

expertise to assist investee companies, the investee companies have access

to proven industry experts who have created, grown and developed Irish

Companies into international success stories comprising: Denis Brosnan

(former CEO of Kerry Foods), Alan Crosbie (Former Chairman Irish Examiner

and family business expert), Dr. Noel Kelly (former Executive Director of

Kentz), Dr Jim Mountjoy (founder of Euristix) and Helen Ryan (former CEO

Creganna Tactx Medical). The Development Capital Investment Directors are

supported by an Investment Committee chaired by Eoin O’Driscoll (Chairman

of SWS).

www.developmentcapital.ie

About Version 1

Version 1 has a 500-strong workforce across the UK and Ireland focused on

proving that IT can deliver real benefits to its customers’ businesses. In

the past eight years, Version 1 has acquired a number of companies,

including Prose Software (2006) and PM Centrix (2010). More recently it

acquired two UK-based companies: the business operations of Northern

European IT Services Company Tieto Corporation in November 2013 and Rocela

Group in January 2014. Version 1 has offices in Belfast, Dublin, Cork,

Edinburgh, Manchester and London.

An industry recognised award-winning IT services company, Version 1’s

recent accolades have included:

· UK OUG Database Partner of the Year

· Top 50 Best Workplaces in Europe - Great Places to Work ®

· Deloitte Best Managed Company

· Oracle Platinum Partner

· Microsoft Partner of the Year

· Amazon Web Services Advanced Consulting Partner

· ISO 20000 Certification

· Company of the Year, Tech Excellence Awards 2014

About Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland is the Irish Government agency that works with Irish

enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales on

global markets. Enterprise Ireland partners with entrepreneurs, Irish

businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop

Ireland’s international trade, innovation, leadership and competitiveness.

The ultimate objective is increased exports, employment and prosperity in

Ireland.

www.enterprise-ireland.com