"Callcredit sits right in our sweet spot as an entrepreneurial organization, deploying smart technology and with a strong, customer-centric management team and great strategic opportunities ahead of it," said David Nahama, a founding partner at Vitruvian. "We are delighted to be working with Chief Executive Officer John McAndrew and his team at this very exciting stage of their development."

Callcredit provides the UK's most innovative credit reference service and direct marketing solutions to financial institutions and others. Skipton supported Callcredit for almost a decade, developing it into one of the UK's leading suppliers of credit and marketing information. Callcredit now has over 600 employees and annual turnover of approximately £50m.

Vitruvian is an independent private equity firm that specializes in middle-market buyouts, growth buyouts and growth capital investments in the UK and Northern Europe. Marks Baughan advised Vitruvian on its purchase of Skipton's ownership stake.

"John Jacobs and Marks Baughan were extremely helpful in evaluating Callcredit and helping us close the transaction, said Nahama. John's relationships and knowledge in the financial technology sector impressed us and added considerable value. In addition, John was there every step of the way to assist us in driving the process forward to completion. We would like to thank John for all his hard work from beginning to end."

For Callcredit, its acquisition backed by Vitruvian marks the start of a new era as an independent organization. Vitruvian Partners will take Skipton's place on the Board and is looking forward to injecting fresh investment, ideas and experience into the business's future development. Callcredit, under its current leadership team, will continue to pursue its clear strategic direction focused on innovation and delivering outstanding value and service.