Hubble Investments: eyes on the stars

Kevin’s early career saw him specialise in cross-border tech audits with RSM, living and working both in the UK and the USA. As a qualified accountant, Kevin first met the Constellation group in 2008 as the audit manager for one of Constellation’s first UK acquisitions, Trapeze Software. When Jonas then entered the UK with the desire to build out a UK finance shared services team, Kevin joined in the early days (2012) to help shape and build the team. By the time Kevin moved into an operational role in 2016, the finance team had grown to over 25 people and integrated almost twenty acquisitions.

Kevin’s first move into operational management was as General Manager and then Managing Director of London & Zurich, a Bacs specialist provider of Direct Debit services. From there, his estate grew as he developed his software experience and skills, adding brands like PCI Systems, Havenstar and Paygate.

Today, Kevin’s role is solely focused on supporting the Hubble Investments team in sourcing and acquiring the next generation of vertical market software leaders to add to the growing portfolio. Day to day this incorporates lead sourcing, conducting due diligence and post acquisition integration of new additions to the growing portfolio. Kevin is always keen to encourage and embrace change, truly believing that: “The only constant in our business is change.”

Shez embarked on his professional journey at IBM, where he kickstarted his career as a Deployment Engineer at Bedfont. His technical acumen led him to explore new horizons in the Leisure Industry, enabling him to hone his problem-solving abilities. Over time, Shez transitioned into Account Management, rolling out one of the first digital membership platforms (at the time). In 2018, Shez joined Jonas as a Sales Manager, coinciding with the acquisition of Ez-Runner. In 2020, just before the onset of the Covid pandemic, Shez made a decision to pursue an MBA in Big Data from Wrexham University. This choice was influenced, in part, by the invaluable insights he gained from the Jonas Family.

In 2022, Shez joined the M&A team at Jonas. Simultaneously, he achieved a significant milestone by successfully graduating later that same year. With an unwavering belief in the power of marginal gains, Shez often finds inspiration in the words of one of his favourite books, “Black Box Thinking.” The book emphasizes the importance of breaking down complex challenges into smaller, manageable components to thoroughly evaluate what works and what doesn’t. This philosophy resonates with Shez, driving his approach to problem-solving and his commitment to achieving optimal outcomes.

Russell Joined Jonas in 2022 as an Investment Manager to help drive the M & A team focus by building closer corporate relationships with Professional Networks and Advisors, helping to add wider growth opportunities to the existing strategy for Jonas in the UK and Europe.

He initially started his career in the Banking arena becoming a senior bank manager in London at the age of twenty-four. Russell was keen to understand more of the corporate world and looking for fresh challenges in his career, started working and managing a number of private companies before becoming enticed into the M & A world.

Russell also ran his own consultancy business specialising in a more involved end to end process of M & A from initial evaluation and preparation to negotiations and post completion integration work. He spent over 16 years as a strategic M & A consultant and gained a wealth of experience representing both sides of the deal process with buyers and vendors along with PE, VC, and corporate global acquirers within key sectors of Logistics, Technology & Software, and more general sectors. He actively played the role of NED and board level roles when working and preparing companies for the M & A process.

When looking at the next phase and a fresh challenge in his career, he was enthused by the ethos of Jonas in that they understood the importance of the employees and leadership teams within the businesses they acquire and their key focus on acquiring companies for the long term strategy, providing security and a long term home for employees and any vendor that chooses to become part of the Jonas global family of companies

Ninorta Chabo is an accomplished Investment Associate at Jonas Software UK with a specialization in the Nordic region. With a wealth of experience in the field of insurance, Ninorta made a career transition to Mergers and Acquisitions, bringing a unique perspective to her role. Since joining Jonas Software UK in January 2022, she has been instrumental in identifying and analysing potential investment opportunities in the software industry, contributing to the expansion of the Jonas Family.

Born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, Ninorta has embraced the dynamic environment of London, where she has been based since 2019. Her deep understanding of the Nordic market and its software landscape allows her to navigate the intricacies of the industry, staying at the forefront of emerging trends and identifying promising ventures for investment.

Ninorta’s keen analytical mind and a passion for driving growth combined with her dedication to fostering strategic partnerships and her commitment to finding synergies, make her an invaluable asset to the Jonas Software UK team.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Ninorta enjoys immersing herself in different cultures and exploring diverse cuisines.

Ilan gained his HND in Business Information Technology from Manchester University and in 1999 started a career in IT Recruitment, working for Monroe Systems, IT Integrity Ltd in London and then later progressed onto Hays PLC upon moving back to Manchester. Ilan had also set up and ran his own Software & Recruitment company for 4 years which specialised in the provision of his own stock control & order processing solution and the recruitment of freelance IT Trainers.

In 2017 Ilan entered the world of sell side Mergers & Acquisitions as a Deal Leader based at the Haslingden office of BCMS Corporate Ltd. Throughout his 12 years with the company, Ilan successfully brokered over 35 business acquisitions, with each deal achieving an enterprise value of between £500k and £15m. During his time at BCMS he gained experience in facilitating multiple complex Trade Sales, PE backed deals as well as MBI & MBO transactions.

Ilan was later recruited by KBS Corporate, a subsidiary of K3 Capital Group Limited and in 2020 he ventured across to Buyside M&A as a Corporate Acquisitions Specialist at Chelsea Corporate and in December 2022 Ilan joined the M&A team at Jonas Software as a ‘Hubble Investments’ Associate where he now seeks to build upon all the commercial experience obtained over the years and to continue with a successful long-term career within M&A.

A finance professional with a decade and a half of experience. Over the past five years, I’ve served as a Finance Business Partner at Jonas Software UK. Recently transitioned to the M&A team as a Business and Strategy Analyst, leveraging my financial acumen to drive strategic decision-making. A graduate of the 2023 Jonas Software UK Leadership Programme, I’m dedicated to continuous growth, not only personal but for the businesses we acquire.