Business

Belfast consulting firm FSCom partners with top growth investor Bridgepoint following significant investment

Fscom chair Alex Lee (left) and managing director Jamie Cooke. Picture: Matt Mackey/PressEye
Fscom chair Alex Lee (left) and managing director Jamie Cooke. Picture: Matt Mackey/PressEye

COMPLIANCE consulting firm FSCom Ltd has signed a partnership with multi billion pound alternative asset fund management group Bridgepoint following a significant investment to support the long-term growth of the company.

Headquartered in Belfast and with offices in London and Dublin, FSCom is one of the UK and Ireland’s premier governance, risk, and compliance consulting firms.

And the investment - terms of which will remain confidential - will enable it to double in size over the next three years by expanding into new markets and services and growing the team.

Currently, Bridgepoint has more than €37 billion of assets under management in the middle and lower mid-cap markets across six sectors, including financial services and business services.

The investment points to FSCom’s proven track record of growth alongside its award-winning reputation backed by the talent and expertise of local professionals, Northern Ireland’s unique geographical location, and healthy financial and professional services ecosystem.

Following a process managed by corporate finance advisers NovitasFTCL, the deal will facilitate the expansion of FSCom’s consulting services within today’s high growth financial services market to cover cyber security, managed services, regulatory technology platforms and environmental, social and governance solutions for financial services institutions.

As a team of deep domain compliance experts, FSCom provides governance, risk and compliance support across financial services regulation, including audit, authorisation, financial crime, cyber security, investment management and regulatory due diligence.

The team of ex-bankers, ex-regulators, and former in-house compliance experts work with major players in the payments, retail banking, investment management and trading and broking sectors, including Moneycorp, CorPay and Banking Circle.

As the governance, risk and compliance market continues to develop in size and complexity, the investment will enable FSCom to further cement its position as a leading consulting firm within the sector.

FSCom managing director Jamie Cooke said: “This investment is firstly a testament to our outstanding team who, following a decade of hard work, have built the company into a leading player in payments and investments compliance, financial crime, and cyber security.

“We are thrilled to partner with Bridgepoint to take forward our ambitious plans for future growth. With their support it will allow us to widen our areas of expertise into new services, grow our client base and broaden career opportunities for our team. The investment will ensure that we can continue to provide practical solutions to our clients in an ever-changing regulatory sector.”

FSCom chair Alex Lee added: “This investment by one of Europe’s most respected Private Equity firms is a strong validation of FSCom’s position as a leading expert adviser to financial services institutions in the UK and Ireland.

“Over the last decade, the business has developed a unique and scalable platform that shows enormous potential for further growth, particularly given our access to the pool of talented professionals in Northern Ireland.

“Bridgepoint’s investment and strategic advice will be invaluable going forward as we look to accelerate our ambitious growth plans for the firm in the future.”

Mayank Kanga from Bridgepoint added: “We are excited to partner with FSCom to support its expansion and transformation into new markets. The partnership will consolidate the firm’s position as the UK and Ireland’s leading specialist governance, risk and compliance solutions consultancy in financial services. It will help to build a stronger, broader-based business with enhanced potential for further growth.”