Leeds-based BigChange plans to create 250 jobs as it aims for £1bn valuation

Serial entrepreneur Martin Port aims to transform BigChange into a “unicorn” business after raising more than £75 million from Great Hill Partners.

Great Hill Partners, which is the private equity firm behind Wayfair, ZoomInfo and Reward Gateway, has invested significant capital to drive further growth and innovation at BigChange.

Leeds-based BigChange’s management team, led by founder and CEO Martin Port, will retain a significant minority stake in the company, which is now valued at £100m.

Mr Port said the new roles would include developers, and staff working in sales marketing customer service.

BigChange’s tools provide job scheduling, customer invoicing and payments automation, mobile workforce management, and client engagement.

Mr Port, who founded the software-as-a-service company in 2013, said: “Our platform eliminates paperwork, dramatically cuts carbon, creates efficiency, promotes safer driving and means that engineers are spending less time on the roads or filling out forms and more time completing jobs. We are incredibly excited to partner with Great Hill and leverage their successful track-record scaling vertical and enterprise software companies both in the UK and overseas.”

Drew Loucks, a Partner at Great Hill Partners, added: “BigChange’s technology is differentiated not only by its ability to serve commercial and residential clients of nearly any scale or vertical, but also by its award-winning product development and customer service capabilities.”

Tom Riordan the chief executive of Leeds City Council said: “This is excellent news for Leeds and Yorkshire, showing how our ambitious tech sector is growing fast, globally connected and very well led.

“Big Change are now one to watch not just in the UK but across the world.”

Graham Pearce, Partner at KPMG, added: “This landmark deal demonstrates the international appeal of the UK technology scene, and it’s great to see BigChange attract such a high calibre investor in Great Hill Partners.”