HgCapital has today announced an investment into Trace One, a leading Software as a Service (“SaaS”) platform for the retail and private label goods sectors, headquartered in Paris, France. The investment was made from HgCapital’s Mercury Fund which focuses on growth buyouts in the technology sector across Europe. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2001, Trace One offers a suite of Product Lifecycle Management (“PLM”) software applications to the retail sector, and operates a platform allowing retailers to develop and exchange private label product specifications with their suppliers. The platform is critical for helping retailers and suppliers to manage innovation, product safety and quality. Trace One serves a blue-chip customer base of 30 leading retailers, across Europe and North America, with data on 20,000 member manufacturers, supporting > US$300 billion of private label sales.

Trace One fits HgCapital’s strategy of investing in companies with subscription revenues in regulatory-driven growth niches and working with founder entrepreneurs looking to transition their businesses to the next stage of ownership.

Bertrand Sciard, an HgCapital operating partner and experienced retail software executive, will become Executive Chairman.

Sebastien Briens, a Director at HgCapital, said: “We have been impressed by the quality of the Trace One business built by Jérôme Malavoy and his team over many years.  Trace One fulfils an important role in managing retailer processes with suppliers and we look forward to supporting the business to deliver even better service to its customers in the future.”

Jérôme Malavoy, Founder and CEO of Trace One said: “This is a great event for me, our investors and an exceptional opportunity for the company. The Trace One team deserves a bright and successful future. I have every confidence that HgCapital, Bertrand Sciard and our management team will succeed in their ambitious plans for the company. We became the world’s number one software vendor in the retail PLM market and I truly believe HgCapital is the right partner to assist the Company in addressing new opportunities in our core and adjacent markets. In my new role as a non-executive I look forward to continuing to help and advise the Company in meeting its full potential.”