The Access Group, a provider of business management software to mid-market organisations in the UK, Ireland and Asia Pacific, has secured further investment from its shareholders Hg and TA Associates.
In addition GIC, a global institutional investor, has confirmed a new investment in Access and that it will become a minority shareholder in the company.
The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second half of 2022.
The investment values the Loughborough company at £9.2 billion, believed to make it one of the largest UK-headquartered software providers.
The refinancing also includes a more than £1 billion facility for further strategic acquisitions.
Access has grown significantly since its incorporation in 1991, delivering uninterrupted profitable growth in the last 15 years. Since 2020, it has more than doubled in size driven by double-digit organic growth, combined with strategic M&A in the UK, Ireland and Asia Pacific.
Access has grown its customer base to more than 60,000 and its employees to approximately 5,000, expanding internationally with offices in nine countries.
“I’m incredibly proud of our continued success and delighted that our leading investors, Hg and TA, continue to support us as the company expands in the UK, Ireland and Asia Pacific,” said Chris Bayne, CEO.
“With GIC’s additional investment, Access continues to receive strong support from the investment community, helping to drive our performance and growth plans.
“We have made massive progress in our growth strategy since we announced the last investment from Hg and TA in 2020. Hg and TA’s further investment in Access signifies our business and team’s strength. We look forward to expanding and continuing our relationship with all three of our investors as we carry on with organic and acquisitive growth projects and further geographic expansion.
“Over the next few years, the management team and I will continue to focus on our growth strategy and our products and solutions, especially Access Workspace, our SaaS platform, which allows our customers’ products and data to be consumed in one place with a consistent user experience.
“The acquisition facility gives Access the power for even more significant expansion as we continue to add exciting new technology and people to the Group. It’s our mission to transform our customers’ productivity and give them the freedom to do more of what’s important to them.”
Jonathan Boyes, a partner at Hg, said: “Access has proved to be one of the biggest UK successes in cloud software. Chris and his team should feel incredibly proud of their achievements, delivering an exceptionally robust performance whilst significantly growing the business during a tough environment over the last few years.
“It has been a pleasure to work with the team and we’re delighted to commit further as a significant investor in the business. Hg is now a proud investor in three of the largest private equity-owned software businesses in Europe and we’re more excited than we’ve ever been about the future prospects of the role of SaaS in the business world.”
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