Tech and data driven growth consultancy Next 15 has confirmed that it will permanently cease operations at its Silicon Valley venturing arm Mach49.
The London-based AIM-listed consultancy announced that it has begun an 鈥榦rderly wind down鈥� of Mach49, which is expected to close before the end of FY26.聽
The unit, acquired in 2020, will be reported as a discontinued operation in the group鈥檚 financial statements.
The decision comes after Next 15 uncovered 鈥榩otential serious misconduct鈥� at Mach49 in June, leading to the dismissal of senior executives Linda Yates, Russ Lampert and Paul Holland.聽
It said at the time that the matter has been referred to law enforcement and the firm is withholding remaining earnout payments.聽
Arbitration proceedings are now underway, with Next 15 also counterclaiming for previously paid sums.
At the time of the acquisition in 2020, Mach49 was generating nearly 拢10m in yearly revenue, advising large companies on spinouts.聽
However, by 2022, it had secured a contract worth around $400m over five years with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
The positives came to an abrupt halt in September 2024 though, as the subsidiary鈥檚 largest customer decided to renege on the deal following its initial three-year term.聽聽
This caused Next 15鈥檚 share price to nearly halve in just a week and subsequently it downgraded its profit expectations, as well as cutting the earnout payment owed to Mach49鈥檚 founders.
UK tech firms lead Dealroom鈥檚 $100m ARR 鈥楾horoughbreds 100鈥�
It comes as part of its 鈥榮implification strategy鈥� which also saw the sale of its Beyond subsidiary to Qodea, a Google Cloud specialist backed by Marlin Equity Partners, in July.
The firm also sold its digital focused growth consultancy Palladium Digital Group.
鈥淭he disposal of Beyond and Palladium, whose sale we recently announced, reflects our ongoing strategy to simplify Next 15 refocussing our organisation for the next phase of growth,鈥� said CEO Sam Knights.
鈥淚 am also pleased that this deal represents a good outcome for the Beyond team.鈥�
Despite the divestments and Mach49 exit, the group said trading remains in line with market expectations, with FY26 adjusted operating profit guidance unchanged.
The shake-up comes during a period of transition at the consultancy, which saw long-serving boss Tim Dyson retire in June after 33 years in charge.聽
Dyson oversaw the company鈥檚 IPO in 1999 and its transformation from PR agency Text 100 into a global network of digital and data-led consultancies.
He has been succeeded by Knights, who previously ran Shopper Media Group (SMG), one of Next 15鈥檚 best-performing businesses since its acquisition in 2021.
Since the announcement this morning, the business has seen its share price rise by 12p to 277p at the time of writing (8.25am).
It currently has a market cap of 拢271m and is set to publish its half-year results for FY26 on 30th September.