Proactis goes Due North to strengthen group in Â£4.5m acquisition

'‹SOFTWARE FIRM Proactis has'‹ bought e-procurement solutions provider Due North Limited from its parent company Access Intelligence for Â£4.5m'‹ in cash.'‹

Wetherby-based Proactis said the deal will enhance its position as a leading provider of e-procurement systems to the UK market. Proactis currently serves over 500 clients and the deal will add a further 300 clients. The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings enhancing.

Rod Jones, CEO of Proactis, said Due North is an “excellent strategic fit” and will consolidate the group’s position as the largest independent e-procurement solution provider in the UK.

“Due North’s market penetration is substantial and should immediately benefit the wider Proactis business. I look forward to working with the team at Due North to grow the business and provide the wider client base with our end to end solutions,” he added.

Due North has annual revenue of £1.6m and Mr Jones said the acquisition will provide substantial cross-selling opportunities to Proactis.

The deal is in line with Proactis’ strategy of boosting organic growth with selective acquisitions.

York-based Access Intelligence said the divestment of Due North is in line with its goal to focus on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions and said the net proceeds of the disposal will be used to strengthen its balance sheet.

Analyst Andrew Darley at FinnCap said: “Proactis has announced the acquisition of Due North, a competing and respected provider of e-Procurement Systems with substantial UK public sector expertise.

“Encompassing 20,000 users, 200,000 suppliers, and £100bn annual customer spend through the Due North system, the £4.5m acquisition contributes more than 300 customers to take Proactis’s customer stable to more than 800.”