Newly formed firm Mobeus Equity Partners has supported the £18 million MBO of technology and consulting business Tessella.

Earlier in July, Matrix Private Equity Partners completed its MBO from Matrix Group and re-launched as Mobeus Equity Partners. The move saw the firm’s partners buy out 50 per cent of the shareholding of its parent, moving the team of 20 to new offices in London.

Through backing Tessella, Mobeus now has in its portfolio a business which supports projects such as working with the European Space Agency to design a satellite to send to the sun and improving safety on oil rigs.

Oxfordshire-headquartered Tessella employs 200 people in the UK, US and Netherlands and for the year ended 31 March 2012 reported turnover of £18 million.

As part of the deal, Steve Curl, operating partner at Mobeus, is joining the board of Tessella as investing chairman. Company founder Kevin Gell is set to stay in a non-executive board role.

Alan Gaby, managing director of Tessella and lead on the MBO, says that Mobeus’ straightforward and management-friendly approach was the ‘real differentiator’.

He adds, ‘Having been in the business for the last five years, my team and I are excited by our plans for the future.’

Following its spin-off from Matrix, Mobeus has £150 million Venture Capital Trust (VCT) funds under management and is predicting a future investment strategy of providing an average of £5 million into MBOs of UK-based companies making between £1 million and £3 million in profits.

Guy Blackburn, investment manager at Mobeus, comments, ‘ [Tessella] works for leading international organisations, helping solve some of the most important and technically challenging problems of our time.’