Image: © Ratta Lapnan/Stock.adobe.com
With backing from investor Hg, the combined company plans to hire more employees and roll out new technologies in Ireland and the UK.
Payroll management tech company BrightPay is merging with accounting software company Relate Software in a bid to integrate services for SMEs in Ireland and the UK.
Based in Co Meath, BrightPay has been operating in Ireland for more than 25 years and employs more than 70 people in the country. It provides payroll software services to around 330,000 employers in Ireland and the UK. Dublin-based Relate has been building accounting software for more than two decades, offering its products to SMEs around Ireland.
Upon merging, BrightPay CEO Paul Byrne and Relate co-founder and CEO Ray Rogers will remain investors and become co-CEOs of the new entity. The other co-founders of each company will also continue to invest in the new business and develop products.
Byrne said that Relate’s track record in the sector will help the two companies become a leading service for many businesses and accountancy firms.
Private equity investor Hg, which focuses on software and service businesses in Europe and North America, will become the majority investor in the combined business. “Their deep sector knowledge has proven invaluable to us and will be instrumental in fuelling the further growth of BrightPay/Relate,” Byrne added.
New hires and technologies
The merger will benefit from the combination of BrightPay’s expertise in payroll software with Relate’s experience in accountancy management tech. Together with Hg, the new business will invest in new technologies such as cloud and automation to improve their services.
Rogers, founder and CEO of Relate, said: “Combining products from both businesses will provide a compelling offering for our customers, with the scope and backing for further innovation and development.
“I’m looking forward to working with Paul and am also excited to welcome Hg, a leading software investor with a track record of supporting growth in Irish software businesses.”
While details of the transactions have not been disclosed, the combined business will have more than 190 employees with plans to hire more people across Ireland and the UK.
“Both BrightPay and Relate are very highly regarded businesses and champions in their field,” said Jonathan Boyes, Hector Guinness and Thomas Martin of Hg in a joint statement. “The two companies bring together core operational strengths whilst also unlocking a high-quality, complementary suite of products to a newly combined customer base.”
Updated, 5.15pm, 29 September 2021: A previous version of this article said that Relate Software was based in London. This was corrected as the company is based in Dublin.
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