The Access Group announces strategic investment from Hg alongside existing investor TA Associates at an enterprise value of £1 billion

With its portfolio spanning Finance, HR, Payroll, Hospitality, Recruitment, Health & Social Care, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education and Not for Profit sectors, The Access Group is the leading vendor of mission-critical business software to mid-market organisations in the UK. 

Chris Bayne, CEO of The Access Group, commented, “We have enjoyed our close partnership with the team at TA Associates, and we’re very proud of the considerable growth we’ve achieved together to date. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them and welcoming our new investors, Hg, to further assist us in our journey as one of the UK’s leading providers of cloud-enabled business application software. With these two marquee investors, we will have access to significant resources and expertise to continue to deliver innovation and value for our clients.” 

“We are very impressed by Chris Bayne, his strong management team and vision for the business, focused on delivering an ever-expanding portfolio of mission-critical software to a growing base of very satisfied and loyal customers,” said Jonathan Boyes, Partner at Hg. 

“It has been a pleasure to partner with Chris Bayne and his team since we invested in the business in January 2015,” said J. Morgan Seigler, Managing Director at TA Associates. “The business has experienced strong organic growth, executed 11 acquisitions, entered three new vertical markets and grown its customer base to more than 12,700 UK businesses and not-for-profit organisations. We look forward to partnering with Hg to support the company through its next phase of growth.” 

Arma Partners is serving as financial advisor to The Access Group. Harris Williams is serving as advisor to The Access Group’s Management. Travers Smith is serving as legal advisor to TA Associates and The Access Group. Linklaters is serving as legal advisor to Hg. 

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About The Access Group

The Access Group is a leading provider of fully integrated business management software targeting UK mid-market organisations. It provides a suite of industry-specific, software applications for Hospitality, Recruitment, Health & Social Care, Manufacturing & Distribution, Education and Not for Profit sectors, underpinned with horizontal software applications for Finance, HR and Payroll solutions. 

The Access Group is one of the top five fastest growing UK software developers. More than 12,700 UK businesses and not-for-profit organisations reliant on the products and services provided by Access to improve their performance, profitability and drive growth. Through a continued focus on creating leading-edge software and a commitment to excellence for customers and employees has also placed the company among the UK's top technology employers. 

About Hg

Hg is a sector expert private equity investor, supporting management teams to grow industry champions. Deeply resourced sector teams focus on specific sub-sectors and investment themes to identify companies occupying an established position within a niche, and which have the potential to grow faster than their market, create employment and become the leader in their industry. Hg’s dedicated portfolio management team provides practical support to management teams to help them realise their growth ambitions. Hg invests in expanding segments of the TMT, Services and Industrials sectors across Western Europe. Based in London and Munich, Hg manages c. £9 billion for some of the world’s leading institutional and private investors. For further details, please see www.hgcapital.com. 

About TA Associates

Now in its 50th year, TA Associates is one of the largest and most experienced global growth private equity firms. Focused on five target industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in nearly 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilising its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in growth companies. TA has raised $24 billion in capital since its founding in 1968, and is investing out of current funds of $7.25 billion. The firm’s more than 80 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong. More information about TA Associates can be found at www.ta.com.

Media contacts: 

The Access Group
Chris Marjara
T: +44 845 345 3300
E: [email protected] 

Hg
Tom Eckersley
T: +44 20 7089 7888
E: [email protected]

TA Associates
Stephen Fishleigh (BackBay Communications)
T: +44 203 475 7552
E: [email protected]