Ciphr strengthens payroll business with acquisition
Tue, 04 Jun 2024 | BUSINESS SALE
HR and payroll software provider Ciphr has acquired a Southampton-based software company as it seeks to bolster its payroll activities. Ciphr, which is backed by ECI, has acquired Shape Payroll, a cloud-based payroll platform that is used by around 1,500 UK businesses.
The deal reflects Ciphr’s efforts to strengthen its payroll offering and represents a significant ramp-up of its activities in this area. The company already processes more than £2 billion in payroll and BACS salary payments for clients each year.
Ciphr Chief Executive Sion Lewis described Shape Payroll as “a cutting-edge, API-first payroll solution that has a great reputation in the payroll sector, with applications that are extensive and well-suited to medium and large-sized organisations, like Ciphr’s customers.”
Lewis added that building out its payroll business was “a key focus” for the company this year, forming part of its longer-term growth strategy, and said that Shape was "the perfect fit to take our payroll tech to the next level."
Ciphr’s Managing Director of payroll, Julie Lally, added that Shape is "a pioneering payroll technology company that is renowned for its innovative, API-first payroll solution and commitment to payroll technology excellence.”
Lally continued that the company has “a proven track record of simplifying payroll operations, as it is implemented at pace and integrates with other systems with ease.”
She added that the acquisition “underscores Ciphr's commitment to innovation, customer satisfaction, and technological excellence, as we continue to empower businesses with the tools they need to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape.”
Shape Payroll co-founder Alex Bartlett said that the company was founded "with a vision to build the most flexible payroll software possible, allowing integration at any level via our Open API and backing that up with an intuitive user interface and fantastic customer support.”
Bartlett added that joining Ciphr would enable the company “to help customers we couldn’t have reached before.”
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