Freeths advises Blue-i Group on significant investment from BGF

Freeths has advised Leeds-headquartered audio visual (AV) and event technology specialist, Blue-i Group, on a £13.75 million investment from BGF.

Founded in 2002 by Lee Bradshaw and Stevie Warne, Blue-i Group delivers state-of-the-art AV, set and stage asset hire, coupled with technical and project management services, for the live events and theatre industries.

Partnering with production company clients across pharma, automotive, technology, government, theatre and creative arts sectors, Blue-i has delivered projects for the United Nations, UK Government, Honda and Ebay, as well as West End productions including Frozen, Wicked, Starlight Express and Tina Turner the Musical.BGF’s investment will fuel Blue-i’s recruitment plans to expand its technical teams and continue to deliver the business’ industry-renowned service-led proposition built over its 20-year history, as well as accelerate a capital investment programme which will support European sales growth.

Lee Bradshaw, CEO of Blue- i, commented: “We are delighted with the investment from BGF – this represents a significant milestone for Blue-i. The team at Freeths delivered on ensuring a smooth transaction for Blue-i and we are grateful for the pragmatic and commercial advice received. We’ve worked with the team for a number of years now and that relationship really helped in this deal.”

Chris Boyes of BGF commented: “Blue-i has established itself as an industry-leader, building an impeccable reputation for the quality of service it delivers to its clients across the live events and theatre sectors. The team are creative and technical in equal measure and their talent and drive is evident in the business’ performance to date. Lee and Stevie have outlined an impressive growth strategy and we look forward to working in partnership to achieve our combined ambitions.”

Dahren Naidoo, Corporate Partner at Freeths, added: "We’ve been a long-term partner to Blue-I and helping them reach this next stage with BGF was a real pleasure and continues to demonstrate our ability to work with (and support) businesses as they continue to grow and evolve in all legal aspects.

The Freeths team was led by Dahren Naidoo and supported by Bradley Adams (Corporate), James Dyson and Charlotte Beddows (Banking), Alex Angelides (Tax) and Laura Tracey (Employment).