Access UK secures expansion capital in £50 million Lyceum deal

£28 million turnover Access UK group already serves a 5,000-strong mid-market client base spread across a broad range of sectors, with manufacturing clients including Cromer Crab Company, Control Aer and LycoRed. Chris Bayne (pictured), CEO of Access, explains that the £50 million transaction will see Lyceum Capital invest alongside Access' existing management, which, he says, has driven 15% growth in sales over the last 12 months. Bayne also says that management will be further boosted with the arrival of chairman Gareth Denley, who has held senior executive positions at IBM UK, Spring Group and Rebus HR, as well as non-executive director David England, formerly chief operating officer at Computer Software Group. The deal sees the firm acquire the stakes previously held by founder Alistair O'Reilly and a number of other shareholders. Lyceum Capital's Jeremy Hand and Phillip Buscombe have joined the Access board. "Access is a highly attractive company with a successful operating model, proven management team and a strong position in the rapidly growing business segment of the software market," comments Hand. "This deal will give the business the funding and additional insight and expertise to broaden its services and penetrate further into key vertical industries." "It's fitting that on the 20th anniversary of Access' incorporation we've agreed a deal which marks a significant step change in the speed and scale of the business' expansion and secured the backing of an investment partner with an outstanding track record of generating sustainable growth," states Bayne. "We'll be focused on the continued development of our market-leading product and service portfolio through a combination of in-house development and the targeted acquisition of complementary solutions and will be looking to further develop our offering across the mid-market space. Manufacturing will continue to form an important part of these plans," he adds.