Livingstone Holdings, a software business which actually manages other businesses’ software usage, has just been bought by Carlyle for £50m

Private equity giant Carlyle has today scooped up software company Livingstone Holdings, in a deal worth around £50m.

Livingstone, whose customers include the likes of BT, Argos and UBS, focuses on managing how businesses purchase and use software.

It covers all major vendors of software, and works with companies to find whether they are over- or under-licensed for the products they are using. The aim is to help businesses get as much as possible from the software they’re paying for.

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“Livingstone is an attractive, profitable business with a strong track record of establishing and growing relationships with large enterprise customers,” said Carlyle managing director Fernando Chueca.

In 2017, Livingstone generated profit before tax of £3.4m – more than double the £1.4m it raked in the year before.

The business was founded in 2010, and already makes annual turnover of around £10.5m.

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“Software licensing terms are becoming more complex and software costs continue to rise,” said the business’s chief executive Tim Green.

“Software asset management is increasingly perceived as a key area of risk for many large organisations.”

Analysts at technology sector intelligence firm Megabuyte said earlier this year that Livingstone’s new Luce platform would “transform” the business, and could “significantly differentiate” the business from its competitors.

GCA Altium advised Livingstone on securing the Carlyle deal, in the 12th tech services transaction it has worked on so far this year.

Earlier this year, Carlyle bought Accolade Wine for around £550m.

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