ThinCats Funds Growth at Award-winning Advisory Advo

ThinCats, the leading alternative lender to mid-sized SMEs, has provided a significant growth funding package to award-winning advisory, advo, as they expand into new premises and eye future growth.

advo is a multi-award-winning advisory providing centralised management and advice, with their own technology platforms bringing together HR, Payroll, and Employee Benefit & wellbeing solutions.

Founded over 25 years ago, advo has grown rapidly as an organisation, employing more than 50 and operating out of multiple locations across the UK.  Originally established as an employee benefits intermediary, advo recognised the need for increased efficiency within essential employer support services.

Today, their outsourced payroll & HR service is provided by fully qualified consultants who protect & guide employers through employment law and HMRC regulations. The employee benefits, payroll and HR services are provided through their SME focused technology platform “advo-one”.

advo-one includes 24/7 benefits information, company documentation, benefit perks & total reward statements, online payslips, absence management reporting and the ability for employees to book and track holiday.

Funding was sought to support the purchase of a new premises for their expanding team and to help accelerate the business’s growth plans, including further developments to the advo-one platform.

The transaction was advised by Scott Taylor and Harry Bowden at CDI Global and legal support provided by Marie Pugh and Andrew Curtis at Clarion Solicitors.

Larry Bulmer, Founder and CEO advo, commented: “We have ambitious plans over the coming years and so a reliable financial partner is essential. Our approach of enabling SMEs to access the same advice, technology and support as their PLC counterparts has proven to be a winning combination. The support of ThinCats allows advo to capitalise on the demand for our services taking our organic growth to the next level.”

Harry Bowden, CDI Global commented; “As a growth-oriented business with ambitious M&A plans, advo is an excellent example of the strength of business headquartered in the South East. Larry and the team already had a very good track record in acquisition and integration of complementary businesses to the advo Group, and we were delighted to support them with their future strategy Having worked with the team at Thincats in the past, we were confident they would represent an ideal partner for the business continued growth and success”.

Stuart Thompson, Head of Transitional Capital, ThinCats: “We are delighted to help Larry and the expert team at advo accelerate their ambitious growth plans. With demand for advanced HR and payroll software rising, the business is well placed to capitalise and I’m excited to follow their continued success. It was fantastic working with Harry and Scott at CDI global and everyone at Clarion who played a significant role in delivering this important funding.”