Alantra advises Tenzing on its investment in payroll specialist activpayroll

Jan 2020

Investment

Alantra, the independent, global investment banking and asset management firm, has advised private equity firm Tenzing on its investment in international payroll specialist activpayroll Ltd (‘activpayroll’). 

Tenzing’s investment will support the continued technological development of the business, investment in sales and its international growth strategy including follow-on acquisitions.

activpayroll is a global payroll outsourcing specialist providing customers with international payroll payment services, global mobility and HR support.  Headquartered in Aberdeen, UK the company was founded in 2001 by CEO Alison Sellar OBE and operates in over 140 countries. activpayroll provides a highly differentiated service from 11 global operational hubs, as well as through its trusted network of in-country partners.

This transaction demonstrates Alantra’s continued activity within the tech-enabled services space, particularly within HR services and follows the recent sale of Cubiks to PSI Services, on which Alantra advised. The Alantra deal team comprised partner Richard Holden, Vice President Josh Jones and Associate Oliver Nicholson.

Richard Holden, Partner at Alantra said: “activpayroll is a tech-enabled specialist service provider of the highest quality that has carved out a reputation for bringing solutions to complex situations that the global payroll players cannot solve. We have a strong existing relationship with Tenzing and we were appointed due to our Payroll and broader HR Services expertise. The international payroll sector continues to demonstrate strong growth as more companies outsource their payroll and HR requirements, due to increased globalisation and regulatory complexity.”

Guy Gillon, Managing Partner at Tenzing, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted to have backed Alison, Euan and their whole team to take activpayroll on the journey to becoming the undisputed market leader in international payroll. We are as excited as the activpayroll team about the next stage of their impressive journey and share their significant ambitions for the business. We are very much looking forward to supporting the team at this exciting time.” Alison Sellar, Founder and CEO of activpayroll, said “Over recent years activpayroll has expanded significantly whilst maintaining an extremely high level of customer satisfaction and this must be attributed to the activpayroll team. We look forward to working in close cooperation with the Tenzing team and accessing their growth eco-system to continue the exciting activpayroll journey.”