This is The Capital Fund’s fifth exit since it was set up six years ago.

Kevin Fleming, finance director of ArgentVive, observes that the acquisition provides ‘an impressive list of blue-chip clients for our B2B division, and gives us access to valuable development resources, intellectual property and expertise’.

Solcara has developed information management software that delivers efficiency and productivity savings for over 130 clients in the UK and Europe, including AstraZeneca, De Beers and Visa. The company’s founder, Ray Jackson, comments that The Capital Fund’s backing was essential to push forward commercial development: ‘It enabled us to solidify the business and bring to market our four leading software products – Crisis Control Centre, Communications Centre, SolSearch and Know How.’

Following the deal, Jackson becomes managing director of the ArgentVive Group and chairman of Solcara. Rob Martin, previously head of Solcara’s information management division, is the new Solcara managing director.

A spokesperson for The Capital Fund, which is one of nine regional VC funds backed partly by public money and managed by the private sector, described the return on the deal as ‘highly profitable’.