IFM backs Australia SaaS player Zuuse

This is the first transaction from IFM’s newly launched growth fund that targets companies with enterprise values in a range of A$50-300 million. The investor, which is owned by a group of Australian industry superannuation funds, is trying to diversify its alternatives exposure away from a strong focus on infrastructure, debt, and listed equities.

The growth fund is being managed by a recently established direct private equity team led by Stuart Wardman-Browne, a former CHAMP Ventures executive. Senior team members include David Odgers, formerly from Bain Capital, Adrian Kerley, recruited from Commonwealth Super Corporation, and Jeremy Larkin, who joined from J.P. Morgan.

Zuuse specializes in software applications for the construction industry covering payments, building operations, facilities management, and asset lifecycle management. The company’s core products are cloud-based collaboration platforms called Payapps, which covers Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and GCPay, which covers North America. These services are said to have experienced strong growth during the pandemic as the construction industry has digitized back-end operations.

IFM had A$159 billion in assets under management as of June. In February, the firm recruited David Neal, previously CEO of Australia’s Future Fund, as CEO. “Private equity is a key growth area for IFM, and we see this investment as one that will continue to help IFM deliver on its purpose to protect and grow the retirement savings of working people,” Neal said in a statement.

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• Topics
• Australasia
• Industrials
• Technology
• Growth
• Australia
• enterprise software