Bristol-based procurement, supply chain and digital consultancy Squarcle has secured investment from UK private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners, as the firm moves to expand across Europe amid rising demand for supply chain and procurement advisory services driven by geopolitical disruption.

According to Consultancy UK, Squarcle was founded in 2020 by Gavin Emmerson MBE and Simon Perks, with Nigel Allison joining in 2022. The firm has expanded rapidly since inception, supported by strong margins, recurring activity and multi-year customer relationships across highly regulated markets.

Gavin Emmerson, founder and CEO of Squarcle, said: "We were looking for a partner who would back our plans to scale and grow without asking us to compromise the very cultural values and tested methods that have powered our success to date. From the first meeting, Phoenix fitted the bill. They asked the right questions, and clearly understood the immense opportunity in the specialist supply chain and procurement sectors. We put a long-term plan in place for Squarcle back in 2020, and with the combined resource of our expert teams and Phoenix's steadfast support, we are in a strong strategic position to become a global leader in specialist consulting to highly regulated markets."

Richard Hill, investment director at Phoenix Equity Partners, said: "Backing the right people is at the heart of what we do, and in Gavin, Nigel and the broader Squarcle leadership team we have found exactly that, a founder and group of operators who have built something genuinely differentiated from the ground up. We look forward to supporting them as they take the business to its next stage of growth."

The transaction marks Phoenix's twelfth investment from its current flagship fund and builds on the firm's experience in specialist consulting, supply chain and logistics, and defence, as illustrated by previous investments in AVA and Logiq. Phoenix's partnership with Squarcle is intended to deepen the firm's talent base, scale its technology offering and extend its reach across UK defence, the wider public sector, international markets and adjacent regulated sectors.

The investment arrives at a period of sustained demand for procurement and supply chain advisory expertise, with geopolitical instability, including renewed disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and conflicts across multiple regions, continuing to force operational changes across international supply chains.