essensys secures £10M loan from Growth Lending to fund take-private
What's the deal? Growth LendingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has provided a £10M term loan to support the management-led acquisition of essensys, a flexible workspace software provider. The facility funded the purchase of publicly listed shares and provides working capital as the company transitions to private ownership.
Essensys, founded in 2006 and listed on London's AIM market in 2019, builds software that helps commercial real estate landlords and flexible workspace operators manage multi-tenant portfolios. The deal was introduced by Kroll Advisory, with Shoosmiths advising Growth Lending.
Why now? Essensys recently completed a strategic shift into a pure SaaS business, decommissioning its legacy private network data centres to focus on software innovation. In March 2025, it launched Elumo — a dynamic booking and access control platform for the flexible workspace market.
The new funding will support Elumo's commercial rollout and accelerate expansion across the UK, Europe, and North America. Going private gives the company room to execute long-term plans without the pressures of public markets.
"Growth Lending stood out for its expertise in public-to-private transactions and its ability to navigate the complexities of the UK takeover process," said Mark Furness, founder and chief executive of essensys. "This facility will enable us to successfully transition to private ownership and execute our pure SaaS strategy."
What could go wrong? Take-private transactions carry execution risk, and debt-funded buyouts add financial pressure on a company still mid-transformation. Essensys must prove that its SaaS pivot — and the Elumo platform specifically — can generate enough recurring revenue to service the loan while funding international expansion.
The flexible workspace sector also faces uncertainty. While hybrid work has boosted demand for flexible office solutions, an economic downturn could squeeze the landlords and operators that essensys serves.
The signal: Essensys's take-private move fits a broader pattern of AIM delistings, as smaller companies find public markets increasingly burdensome — and alternative lenders like Growth Lending, classified by Dealroom as a corporate investor, step in to back complex capital market transactions that traditional banks often avoid. For essensys, still at an early growth stage despite being founded in 2006, private ownership could provide the breathing room needed to scale Elumo in a flexible workspace software category that is maturing but remains fiercely competitive.
Read more: benews.co.uk
