Published on the 20/11/2019 | Written by Heather Wright
UK’s Access Group eyes Australasian market entry on back of deal…
Attaché Software – the 30-year-old financial management and payroll software supplier headed up by Kiwi Mike Rich (pictured) – has been acquired by UK software provider Access Group as it looks to launch into the Australasian market.
Access, which has 20,000+ customers and more than 2,000 staff, offers a range of products and services. Its Workspace offering provides a single unified platform connecting suites of finance and HR applications integrated with industry specific solutions and sharing the same data. Products including CRM, invoice automation, expense management, analytics and collaboration are available within the platform, with Access operating across a range of verticals including healthcare, education, not-for-profit, manufacturing, construction and professional services.
There is real potential to tap into a significant share of this market growth.
Rich, who co-founded the company in 1984 and is managing director for the business, says the combination of Access and Attaché will provide ‘the strongest suite of tools for mid-market businesses in the region’.
No financial details were released about the deal which could, on the face of it at least, see the combined business providing solid competition for Workday’s ERP platform locally.
“As one of the fastest growing technology providers in the UK, we are confident that Access is the right company to help build on all we have achieved so far with Attaché,” Rich says.
“The Australasian market is seen as an excellent place to support Access in delivering its next stage of growth, with the Australian market’s spend on software expected to grow from $16 billion in 2019 to in excess of $21 billion by 2022,” the companies said in an announcement. “With Access focused on delivering a fully connected mid-market business solution suite, on the Access Workspace platform, there is real potential to tap into a significant share of this market growth.”
Attaché has a solid foothold in Australian, Kiwi and South Pacific medium sized businesses (defined by Attaché as being from 10 to 1,000 staff and from $2 million to $100 million in revenue). The company, which offers payroll, accounting and asset management products, has 2,800 customers across the region.
Access recently recorded its eleventh consecutive year of profitable growth, posting more than 40 percent growth in both revenue and EBITDA, with year on year proforma organic revenue growing 14 percent to £214 million and proforma EBITDA of £74 million.
While Access has been busy on the acquisition front – it made nine acquisitions in the past financial year and entered two new markets in digital learning and compliance – the Attaché deal is the first wholly software business acquisition for The Access Group and highlights its global expansion plans for Workspace.
Attaché currently has a number of staff in the UK ‘learning the ropes’.
