Oct 8, 2015

08/10/2015 · Nordic · Financial Services , Support Services · Sponsor Capital , Vitruvian Partners Accountor, provider of financial, accounting and HR solutions in Northern Europe, has announced a significant investment by funds managed and advised by Vitruvian Partners (“Vitruvian”), subject only to customary regulatory approvals. As part of the transaction, Founder and Chief Executive Officer Asko Schrey will retain a significant stake in the company, while Vitruvian becomes the new majority owner. Several current shareholders, including funds managed by Sponsor Capital, will reinvest. The new ownership will enable Accountor to continue to invest in its people, processes and industry-leading technology in order to build upon its premier position in a large and rapidly growing market. Asko Schrey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Accountor, commented: “Accountor is playing a market leading role in the evolution of the Nordic landscape for financial and accounting services, enhancing the way in which clients operate and enabling their continued profitable growth and success. Having started off as a single accounting office in Finland in 1987, Accountor today operates more than 140 offices across seven countries and provides some of the industry’s most innovative solutions to over 30,000 customers. Over the past 15 years, we have grown our revenues from less than €3 million to over €200 million, through a combination of M&A and rapid organic growth, particularly driven by innovation in our software division. This progress would not have been possible without the dedication of our people and loyal customers, as well as our current investors. Vitruvian has a strong track record in supporting fast-growing companies in their international and product expansion efforts, as well as an unrivalled experience within the software space. In combination with the ambition to support a continued acquisition strategy, this makes Vitruvian the perfect partner for the next stage of Accountor’s growth.” Mike Risman, Managing Partner at Vitruvian Partners, added: “Vitruvian is excited to invest in Accountor at a time when the financial and accounting outsourcing market is undergoing rapid digitisation. Our investment will allow the company the flexibility to accelerate its growth both organically and inorganically by further leveraging its unique proposition of combining market leading software products with a vital layer of direct customer contact through its pan-Nordic office network. Asko and his team have created a truly outstanding market leader in growing Accountor to its current size, and we are delighted to partner with them to jointly drive the next phase of the company’s development.” Juhani Kalliovaara, Partner at Sponsor Capital, added: “For Sponsor Capital it has been an exciting journey to share in the growth of Accountor during the past six years. In our view, Accountor is a textbook example of a great Finnish champion becoming an international and Nordic success story and we are proud to have worked alongside Asko and his team throughout this phase. Our sizeable reinvestment into the business is a sign of our trust in the future of this exciting enterprise and we look forward to our continued partnership in the next years. For further information on Accountor, please visit http://www.accountorgroup.com About Accountor Accountor is one of the leading providers of financial administration, accounting and HR management outsourcing services and software in the Nordic countries. Accountor operates in seven countries: Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Ukraine and Russia. Accountor’s software selection focuses on financial administration, accounting and HR management. In 2014, Accountor’s turnover was EUR 155 million, and it has more than 2,000 employees and approximately 30,000 customers. Accountor brands include Procountor, Mepco, Tikon, Työvuorovelho, Maraplan, eCom, PCP and eTasku, among others. Contact: Asko Schrey, CEO, asko.schrey@accountor.fi, +358405001655 About Vitruvian Partners Vitruvian is an independent private equity firm which specialises in middle‐market buyouts, growth buyouts and growth capital investments across Europe. Vitruvian focuses on investing in ‘dynamic situations’ in industries characterised by rapid growth and change, such as technology, business services, financial services, healthcare, media, and telecoms. Vitruvian is currently investing VIP II, its recently raised fund of £1 billion. The firm’s previous investments in the technology and services sectors include CRF Health, Just Eat, Benify, Snow Software, Farfetch, Voxbone, Callcredit Information Group and Unicom. Accountor is the firm’s fifth investment in the Nordic region, and the second in Finland, since 2011. Vitruvian has offices in London, Stockholm, and Munich. Contact: Matthew Smallwood, Managing Partner, Instinctif, +44 (0) 20 7457 2005 About Sponsor Capital Sponsor Capital is a Finnish private equity investor focused on investing in small and medium-sized companies. Our targeted investments are Finnish companies operating in domestic market and internationally. Sponsor Capital is seeking to invest in companies driving for growth, internationalization and operational improvement. Sponsor Capital is unconstrained by sector limitations. Sponsor Capital has currently two funds under management comprising a total capital of approximately 375 million euros. Contact: Juhani Kalliovaara, Partner, juhani.kalliovaara@sponsor.fi, +358 40 5880100