One of the men behind a tech unicorn valued at 拢3 billion says he expects it to overtake Sage Group as the 海角视频鈥檚 biggest software company within two years.
Access Group chief sales officer Jon Jorgensen said he believed it was well on the way to becoming the biggest software company in the 海角视频 having acquired 18 smaller businesses last year 鈥 and it is on track to take on a similar number this year.
The business is in the process of recruiting 500 more staff, and has seen revenues rise 50 per cent in the last year to around 拢500 million.
At the official opening of the group鈥檚 new global headquarters in Loughborough, Mr Jorgensen said they were already contemplating building a second block next door to make room for further growth.
He said: 鈥淲e will soon be the biggest 海角视频 headquartered software company, overtaking Sage by revenue. It is my ambition to do that within 18 months.
鈥淲e are basically doubling the size of our company every two years, and that includes organic growth of 20 per cent.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 the case you know you are doing the right thing with the acquisitions you鈥檙e making.
鈥淲e are now the 海角视频鈥檚 largest provider of HR and payroll solutions. We were valued at 拢3 billion in October last year, compared to a value of 拢1 billion in 2018. We are high growth, high value.鈥
The biggest recent acquisition was of Sage Group鈥檚 local businesses in Australia and Asia, continuing Access鈥 focus on the Asia Pacific region as a centre of growth.
Founded in 1991, Access Group provides software services to mid-market businesses in sectors such as hospitality, not-for-profit, supply chain, recruitment, health and social care
In 2011 Mr Jorgensen was part of a management buy-out, which was followed by two rounds of private equity investment.
He now owns the second biggest private stake in the business after chief executive Chris Bayne, and said there are also around 2,000 shareholders from within the company鈥檚 own ranks.
Today the group employs 4,680 people 鈥 up from 850 in 2015 鈥 and since June it has added another 108 graduates and apprentices to the payroll.
Mr Jorgensen 鈥 a finalist in the recent LeicestershireLive Business Executive of the Year Awards 鈥 said there were no plans to float the business because the current set-up fitted the operation well.
He said: 鈥淲e like being privately owned because we have a lot more control and can do the right thing for our customers.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not beholden to a three-monthly review with investors who might not be as aligned to our business as we鈥檇 like.
鈥淭he way we operate we can be more visionary and innovative and can be agile and quick about it. We don鈥檛 have to worry about the share price or the sentiments that hamper a lot of PLCs.
鈥淲hen we first got involved with private equity investors in 2011 we were turning over 拢24 million and now it鈥檚 拢500 million, and we are supporting more than 4,500 salaries and mortgages.鈥
The new HQ has brought together teams from offices in areas including Loughborough, the nearby village of Lockington and Leicester.
The 拢20 million building was built by Leicestershire County Council in partnership with the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park, and it is believed to have been the biggest single-occupier deal in the county in a century.
Mr Jorgensen said the new base was perfectly situated to attract the brightest young recruits from the region and its universities.
He said: 鈥淚t was down to the council and the university to work together to make the vision a reality.
鈥淭hrough our lease we are putting something like 拢5 million a year back into the council to spend on frontline services.
鈥淚 think our coming here has been a shot in the arm for Loughborough because of the businesses that have come and gone over the years.
鈥淭he reason for having this office is to attract the right people to enable further growth.
鈥淥ur ambition now is to have another office next door. It鈥檚 been a five year exercise to get this far, so that could take another five or 10 years.
鈥淚 would like to see it be a mirror image of what鈥檚 happened here, with a glass bridge between the two buildings 鈥 something like the Microsoft campus.
鈥淲e are trying to hook graduates, not just from Loughborough, but from universities in Derby, Nottingham and Birmingham. It鈥檚 about retaining talent in the East Midlands, and helping the region retaining its top talent, which in turn feeds the local economy.
鈥淟oughborough itself is going to benefit from having people like us living here and spending our money in its pubs and restaurants.鈥
About a third of the Access Group鈥檚 workforce is overseas, in places such as Timisoara in Romania 鈥 Mr Jorgensen said it is the best employer in that city 鈥 as well as Australia and other parts of the Asia Pacific region.
The new 109,000 sq ft Loughborough headquarters is home to around 570 of the company鈥檚 global workforce, with room for another 400 as the business expands.
More than 300 graduates and apprentices have joined in the last two years.
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