Access UK secures £50m deal

Sheffield-based Access, which helps companies manage their finances and staff more effectively, has a 5,000-strong client base which includes Spice Group, Yorkshire Coast Homes, Kirklees College and Bradford College.

Access, which was founded in 1991, has grown to become a £28m turnover business with 300 staff in the UK and Ireland.

The £50m transaction will see Lyceum Capital invest alongside Access’ existing management, who are led by chief executive Chris Bayne,

The management team has also been boosted with the arrival of chairman Gareth Denley, who has held senior executive positions at IBM UK, Spring Group and Rebus HR (CEO) and non-executive director David England, who was formally 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 sharehold- ers.

Lyceum Capital’s Jeremy Hand and Phillip Buscombe have joined the board of Access.

Mr Bayne said: “It’s fitting that on the 20th anniversary of Access’s incorporation we’ve agreed a deal which marks a significant step change in the speed and scale of the business’s expansion and secured the backing of an investment partner with an outstanding track record of generating sustainable growth.

“Our thanks go to exiting group managing director Alistair O’Reilly and non-executive chairman Paul Druckman, who have played a key role in helping the business get to where we are today.”