The Access Group, a leading provider of business management software to mid-market organisations, has announced significant year-on-year pro forma revenue growth of 47%, leading to pro forma revenues of £315 million and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of £109 million for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 (“FY20”). These results continue 15 straight years of uninterrupted profitable growth for the company. During FY20, The Access Group added 15,000 new customers, bringing total customers to more than 35,000 across the company.
The Access Group also announced today that it has secured further investment from its two largest shareholders: Hg, a leading European investor in software and tech-enabled services businesses; and TA Associates, a leading global growth private equity firm. Together, the investors will make a substantial strategic investment in the company and will both retain joint control of The Access Group, alongside the management team. Financial terms of the transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2021, were not disclosed.
Commenting on today’s announcements, Chris Bayne, CEO of The Access Group, said: “I’m extremely proud of this year’s outstanding financial results and pleased that our leading investors continue to support us as the company continues to grow and evolve.
”We have made enormous leaps forward in our growth strategy since Hg and TA came on board in recent years, and we’re very proud of the considerable growth that we’ve achieved together to-date. Hg and TA’s further investment in The Access Group is a sign of our business and team’s strength. We look forward to continuing our relationship with our partners as we embark on further organic and acquisitive growth projects, as well as geographic expansion.
”My management team and I are deeply committed to The Access Group, and, over the course of the next five years, we’ll continue to invest in our products and solutions to enable new and existing clients to change how they engage with their software, transforming their productivity and giving them the freedom to do more.”
Jonathan Boyes, Partner at Hg, said: “We recognised the quality of The Access Group many years before we invested and, since then, we’ve seen the business show not only resilience, but also huge progress and growth even during this incredibly volatile year. We’re very happy to increase our investment in The Access Group and further accelerate the company’s business strategy together with our partners.”
J. Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA Associates, said: “We first invested in The Access Group five years ago because of the company’s potential for growth, strong customer base and deeply committed management team. With its significant growth over the past few years and its plans for the future, we believe that The Access Group offers an even more compelling investment opportunity today, and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”
During FY20, The Access Group completed nine acquisitions, which have contributed to the company’s accelerated growth. Following the acquisitions of Core HR, PeopleHR, Safety Media, The Payroll Service Company, Microlearn and eLFY, The Access Group announced on 29 September 2020 the launch of Access People, a new division bringing together all of its human resources, payroll, learning & development and compliance solutions. Together, these solutions contributed pro forma revenues of £112 million in FY20.
Also during FY20, The Access Group acquired Attaché, an Australian-based Financial Management and Payroll software supplier with more than 30 years of experience providing software to Australasian mid-market businesses. This transaction marked the first wholly overseas software business acquired by The Access Group, and it established the company’s intent to take its Access Workspace solutions beyond its home market in the UK and onto the global stage.
The Access Group has seen a strong start to its fiscal year ending June 30, 2021 with the acquisition of Eclipse, a market leading provider of Case and Practice Management systems; and DPS Software, a UK provider of SaaS-based Practice Management software for legal practices and in-house legal departments. These two acquisitions resulted in the creation of the company’s Access Legal Division, which continues The Access Group’s strong heritage in serving legal firms with core back office systems.
About TA Associates
TA Associates is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $2 billion per year. The firm’s more than 90 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong.
About Hg
Hg is a leading European investor in software and services, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialisation and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses. Hg has funds under management of over $30 billion, with an investment team of over 140 professionals, plus a portfolio team of more than 30 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions. Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has a portfolio of over 30 software and technology businesses, comprising over 30,000 employees across the UK, US and Europe. For further details, please visit the Hg website.