16 July 2025: Opus Safety Ltd, a tech-enabled Health and Safety, HR and Occupational Health solution provider, has secured a minority investment from BGF and OakNorth to accelerate its growth.
Birmingham-headquartered Opus Safety provides services to a broad range of SMEs nationwide.
Founded by John Southall, Ian Hatherly and Tom Baverstock, it has built a strong reputation as a high quality, tailored, solution-led partner for all things health and safety, HR and occupational health. Its proprietary Opus Compliance Cloud software solution helps clients transform and digitise their operations.
Opus has achieved significant success to date, including completing four acquisitions, and has ambitions to continue scaling both organically and via M&A. Funding from BGF and OakNorth will provide acquisition firepower and facilitate continued product innovation. The deal was led by Dave Bellis, investor in BGF’s Midlands team, and was arranged by David Neate, partner at Evolve Corporate Finance. Ian Fairclough, Director of Debt Finance, led the deal for OakNorth.
John Southall, founder of Opus Safety, said: “This investment is a momentous milestone for the business. Since we founded in 2022, we’ve been high growth and laser-focused on building the best compliance consultancy in the UK, assembling a team dedicated to excellent personal service. We’re delighted to be working alongside BGF, developing a partnership that will allow us to access the funding, experience and expertise we need to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.”
BGF investor Dave Bellis added: “We’re delighted to be backing an ambitious management team with a successful track record. We have known them for a while, they have a proven ability of delivering growth, and we look forward to supporting them on the next phase of their journey. It is also great to work with so many Midlands advisers and funders to put a deal like this together and back a local business.”
David Neate, Partner at Evolve Corporate Finance, commented: “We have worked with Opus since its formation in 2022, supporting them on their growth strategy and helping them identify, acquire and integrate several acquisitions. Having developed a proven business model we are delighted to have secured this latest round of funding for Opus which will enable the business to scale at pace and fully capitalise on its opportunities for further growth.”
Ian Fairclough, Director of Debt Finance, at OakNorth, commented: “We’re proud to support the next stage of Opus Safety’s journey alongside BGF. This is exactly the type of ambitious, forward-thinking business OakNorth was created to empower — a high-growth, tech-enabled firm led by an experienced team with a clear vision for the future. With a proven model and an impressive track record of acquisitions and innovation, Opus is well-positioned to scale further.”
Andrew Lawton Smith, Partner at Fieldfisher, commented: “We are delighted to have supported the Opus team across our business from its very formation – through its first four acquisitions to providing wider business law support at all stages. Working for a dynamic, energetic and focused management group such as those leading Opus, who are striving hard to build an enterprise of real substance and impact, is the most satisfying and enjoyable thing we do!”
Local Advisers on the transaction:
- Corporate finance advisor to Opus: Evolve Corporate Finance (David Neate, partner, David Lee, director).
- Opus lawyers: Fieldfisher (Andrew Lawton Smith, Alex Morris)
- BGF lawyers: Higgs (John Heaton, Neil Large, Richard Freeman).
- OakNorth lawyers: Pinsent Masons (David Doogan, Catherine Howe).
- Tax advice: Claritas (Iain Wright, Adam Keates, Mike Fahy).
ENDS
About BGF: BGF is one of the largest and most experienced growth capital investors in the UK and Ireland. With a minority, non-controlling investment approach and a national network of 15 offices, BGF supports a wide range of growing businesses with long-term capital and strategic support. BGF is also a certified UK B Corporation.
www.bgf.co.uk / @BGFinvestments
About Evolve Corporate Finance: Evolve Corporate Finance is an independent corporate finance advisory firm supporting clients to sell, buy, and raise equity and debt funding. The firm is focused on working predominantly with owner-managers in the SME market on transactions between £5 million and £100 million. You can find out more about Evolve Corporate Finance at our website: www.evolvecf.co.uk.
About OakNorth: Launched in September 2015 and founded by entrepreneurs, OakNorth is a digital bank focused on serving and empowering the lower mid-market (businesses with £1m-£100m in turnover), that are seeking to scale but are routinely underserved or overlooked by traditional banks.
To date, it has provided $17bn to these businesses across a wide range of sectors, achieving performance metrics that place it amongst the top 1% of commercial banks globally. Its loans have directly contributed to the creation of 56,000 jobs, and over 34,000 new homes across the UK and the US – the majority of which are affordable and social housing.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.