Access announces strong rise in profit and revenue growth

Business better than ever as Access celebrates its 20^th anniversary year

Business management software provider Access has announced strong financial results today, with revenue growth rising 15 per cent to £28.4m. EBITDA, after adjustments for management buyout (MBO) related costs, has increased 10 per cent to £5.5m. This is after a £0.5m increase in investment in R&D.

Adam Brown, chief financial officer for Access, commented, "We've delivered exactly what we set out to achieve, having reached the projected targets we announced earlier this year; we're very excited about our future. Our sales pipeline remains strong and following the management buyout and £50m deal with growth investor Lyceum Capital in March, we're on track for rapid organic growth and fast-tracking our strategy to acquire complementary solutions."

The private equity deal marked a significant step change in the speed and scale of Access' expansion, in what is its 20^th anniversary year. "Alongside our acquisition trail, we're looking to focus on the continuous improvement of the existing product set. This includes the on-going development of our mobile platforms and next generation solutions."

In addition to increased investment in R&D, Access is on a recruitment drive to increase sales, consultancy and support resources to continue servicing the growing demand for Access' full range of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services - including its financial management (FMS), human capital management (HCM) and supply chain management (SCM) systems.

Access' solutions remain strong across a broad range of industries from manufacturing and distribution to not-for-profit and professional services with a growing list of well-known customers including the Eden Project and The Scout Association. In particular, the ever-increasing popularity of FocalPoint is seeing the solution extend across more and more front-office functions. The acquisition of Select Software (now Access Select) in February 2010 has proved to be a positive addition to the fold, showing a strong return on investment over the past 12 months due mainly to an increasing number of large, multi-product wins and cross-sells.

The success achieved during the period has been widely recognised within the industry and the wider business community. Access was named one of the top UK employers in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list. It won various industry awards including Accountancy Age's 'Software Package of the Year', two customer-voted SIFT Media Software Satisfaction Awards, was recognised as one of the fastest growing UK businesses in The Sunday Times Profit Track listing and named 'Buy-out of the Year' in the M&A Awards. Access staff also picked up awards for the 'ICAEW IT Faculty Prize' and in the HR Excellence Awards.