Dr Harter ‘delighted’ at sale of RealVNC to Livingbridge
RealVNC, the remote access and remote support company founded in Cambridge by Dr Andy Harter in 2002, has been acquired by private equity firm Livingbridge.
Real VNC’s software products are used every day in a wide range of wide range of industries and organisations, from household names to specialised start-ups, in more than 160 countries.
Its lead product, VNC Connect, allows users to link securely to a remote device anywhere in the world, see its screen in real-time, and take control as though sitting in front of it.
The product has been deployed across a myriad of use cases, from basic remote access and remote support, through to using the software on connected devices such as medical ventilators, set-top boxes and heavy industrial machinery.
A company statement said: “Livingbridge have been bought in to provide essential investment and expertise to support RealVNC in our next phase of accelerated global growth.
“This will allow us to fully realise the true potential of the leading-edge remote access products we currently provide.”
Dr Harter left his CEO role at RealVNC – currently based at 50-60 Station Road – in 2018. He was awarded a CBE in 2017 and is now deputy lieutenant of Cambridgeshire.
Dr Harter said: “The acquisition by Livingbridge represents the next stage in the evolution of RealVNC and is a strong endorsement of our product innovation, global reach and most of all, our talented team at RealVNC. The founder shareholders are delighted that the business they have nurtured will be in good hands and that further significant opportunities for growth are now unlocked.”
London-based Livingbridge, one of the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investors, says its investment “will help support RealVNC through the next phase of its growth, investing in all areas of the business to take full advantage of the significant market opportunities available to it”.
Livingbridge will also support RealVNC in bringing in its new chairman, David Parry-Jones.
He has extensive experience in the software industry, and has spent more than 20 years in senior roles at VMware, Microsoft and most recently Twilio, where he is currently senior vice president and GM EMEA.
Simon Peet, investment director at Livingbridge, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Adam and team on the next stage of RealVNC’s journey.
“The business has built a reputation for excellence and innovation in a truly exciting market. We have real ambition for the potential of the company and we look forward to supporting the team with our experiences of scaling software businesses internationally.”
RealVNC says the new investors will “accelerate global expansion plans”.
CEO Adam Greenwood-Byrne said: “This deal marks the beginning of an exciting new phase of the RealVNC story. The team at Livingbridge share our vision and bring both financial firepower and strategic support to assist us in realising our growth ambitions
“We at RealVNC are very excited about this new partnership with Livingbridge and look forward to the bright new future ahead of us.”
RealVNC was the original inventor of VNC – Virtual Network Computing – remote access technology which allows cross-platform screen sharing. It has customers in 160 countries.
