Access Group acquires hospitality software firm to boost hotel offering

Access Group, a portfolio company of Hg Capital, TA Associates and GIC, has acquired Guestline, a firm that provides mission critical software to businesses in the hospitality sector. Loughborough-headquartered Access has made the acquisition as it seeks to expand the range of products that it can offer hotel operators.

Guestline, which is based in Shrewsbury, has developed a cloud software platform that incorporates end-to-end distribution, property management and guest experience. The platform is used by more than 2,900 venues across 23 countries.

The company has been acquired by Access from global private investor The Riverside Company, which invested in Guestline in 2016 as it sought to deepen its presence in the UK market. With Riverside’s backing, Guestline has grown internationally and made significant investments in new product development.

Commenting on the motivation behind the acquisition, Access Hospitality managing director Henry Seddon said: "As well as enhancing our ability to serve the requirements of hotel customers through the provision of a tailored product that fulfils their operational needs, the acquisition will enable us to expand into new territories, given Guestline's strength in European and international markets.”

Seddon added that Access had been “particularly impressed with the strength and experience of the Guestline management team”.

Guestline Chief Executive Andrew McGregor added: "Guestline and Access are a natural fit and we are very excited to be joining the group. The combined group's cloud software solution will provide the most comprehensive set of capabilities in the market, making a real difference to hoteliers across the globe.”

"We look forward to working together to expand further into our existing European and Asia Pacific markets which offer very significant growth opportunities."

Riverside Europe managing partner Karsten Langer said that the sale was the sixth exit that the team had achieved over the past 18 months, commenting that it “demonstrates our ability to support leading mid-market businesses through organic and inorganic growth initiatives.”

Langer continued: "Despite the challenges of Brexit and COVID-19, Guestline's revenue and earnings more than doubled during our investment period."


As owners face an increasingly tough trading environment, improving their uptake of new technology is one of the main factors driving M&A in the hospitality sector.

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