ECI Partners, the leading growth-focused mid-market private equity firm, has invested in Ciphr, a leading UK provider of HCM software solutions. The investment will support Ciphr to accelerate its ambitious growth and development plans.
The transaction provides an exit for LDC who invested in Ciphr in 2016. During its partnership with LDC, Ciphr invested in product development and completed four strategic acquisitions, expanding Ciphr’s offering beyond HR to also include recruitment, learning and payroll solutions through the Ciphr Connect HCM platform. Between 2016 and 2020 Ciphr invested heavily, doubling its headcount, driving a compound annual revenue growth of over 25%.
Ciphr is a specialist provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) HR, payroll, recruitment and learning software which connects businesses with their employees via an online platform, Ciphr Connect.
The business’ marketplace offering allows its proprietary HR software to be integrated with customers’ existing tools, taking the strain out of HR admin and improving data accuracy. Ciphr supports 300,000 employees across 50 countries globally, with customers including the Met Office, Natural History Museum and Volkswagen.
The investment marks ECI’s fifth investment in 2020. ECI’s previous investments in the SaaS space include Mobysoft, CPOMS, and Fourth.
Chris Berry, CEO, Ciphr comments: “Our relationship with LDC has been extremely successful, not just in terms of financial growth, but also the development of our offering to meet the needs of our customers. The support and experience provided by Chris Baker, Alastair Weinel and the rest of the team at LDC has been invaluable.”
“We’re absolutely delighted to be working with ECI as our investment partner for the next stage in Ciphr’s journey. Through our people management platform, Ciphr Connect, we have established ourselves as the UK’s leading mid-market provider of SaaS HCM for organisations who want to integrate their people management software with other, best-of-breed technologies. We have ambitious plans to develop new solutions, broaden our partner offering, cultivate and expand our team of outstanding people, and continue to deliver exceptional products and services that help our customers to manage the entire employee lifecycle more effectively. Our partnership with ECI will help Ciphr to realise these goals.”
Stephen Roberts, Investment Director at ECI, said: “Ciphr is a high growth business whose services have only become more vital over the course of 2020. We are excited by the opportunity that Ciphr has to strengthen its position in the HCM market, both organically and through M&A.”
“The management team is highly experienced with a proven track record of achieving growth and developing innovative solutions to meet the increasingly complex demands of mid-market organisations. As an experienced software investor, we’re delighted to partner with Chris and the team and look forward to supporting them over the next stage of Ciphr’s journey.”
Chris Baker, Investment Director at LDC in the South said: “From the very start of our partnership with Ciphr’s management team back in 2016, it was clear their growth potential was significant. Through a series of strategic acquisitions, the business has extended its product suite and footprint to become a market leader in its field, and continued to drive customer acquisition through its best-in-class service. We wish Chris and his team the very best on the next phase of their exciting growth journey.”