LACE Partners (“LACE”), a full-service consultancy which focuses on optimising and transforming the HR functions of large corporates and multinationals. was founded in 2014 by Aaron Alburey and Cathy Acratopulo, after successful careers at international consultancies. Both worked together in Accenture’s HR and Human Performance teams, whilst Alburey formerly led Deloitte’s HR advisory practice in the UK. LACE has since established itself as a specialist leader in the HR consulting market, with an impressive client list consisting of multinational FTSE100 clients. LACE leverages the experience and thought leadership of its highly skilled staff base to support HR Directors and CPOs to deliver on their strategic aims.
The HR transformation market has expanded significantly as HR functions have proven themselves to be mission critical for broader business success and due to increased complexity and digital requirements. LACE, as a leading and rapidly growing specialist consultancy, is able to meet these challenges with an offering which encompasses a range of services focused on fulfilling the needs of HR Directors and CPOs. These include complex change projects for HR and payroll including people strategy and organisational design, employee experience, and systems, as well as the delivery of data and analytics insight. Mobeus will support LACE in expanding the capability and scale of its practice areas, given the increasing demand for its services, through organic and acquisitive growth.
Mobeus has deep sector expertise backing and growing human capital businesses. Mobeus’s track record includes recent exits for technology public policy adviser Access Partnership (4.4x MoC) and product design specialist Kinneir Dufort (2.8x MoC) in 2022 as well as the technology consultancy Tessella (2.9x MoC).
LACE represents the fourth investment in the first year of Mobeus’s latest UK-focused small-cap buyout fund, Mobeus V, following its other business services investments in Gungho Marketing, GW Global Insights and The Translation People in 2022.
The investment was led by Freddie Bacon with support from Chris Price and Samira Aminzare. Mobeus Portfolio Partner, Guy Blackburn, has joined the board from completion with Samira Aminzare as a board observer.
Freddie Bacon observed, “Mobeus is delighted to be partnering with LACE, a high-quality platform in a market which increasingly requires strategic advice and delivery capability across the HR spectrum. Since our initial conversations, we have been enthused by the ambition of founders Aaron and Cathy and the calibre of talent across their wider team. Mobeus is eager to support these plans by leveraging our recent experiences of the wider consultancy sector, which delivered two successful exits last year.”
Mobeus was advised by HMT (Financial and Tax DD), Armstrong (Commercial DD), Osborne Clarke (Legal), Grant Thornton (Tax Structuring) and Sustainable Advantage (ESG). Vivero provided corporate finance advice to the shareholders and introduced the deal to Mobeus. Freeths provided legal advice to the shareholders.