AI Magazine Issue 3 2017

Acquisition International - March 2017 5 Xero Expands Capital and Credit Sources to UK Business The carefully curated set of business finance providers will bridge a critical need for businesses to achieve their objectives. The announcement accelerates the progress of Xero’s financial web, giving small businesses and their advisors easier access to the services and funds they need to manage and grow their operations. The integrations, built on top of Xero’s industry leading open API, will help more small businesses make smarter decisions, improve cash flow, get paid faster and access capital quickly. Accountants and bookkeepers can also use the financial web to expose new services and insights for their clients, and ensure the integrity of the data they’re using. Gary Turner, managing director UK of Xero said, “the philosophy is simple; better accounting data leads to better decisions and easier access to capital needed by so many small businesses.” The latest business finance apps to integrate with Xero and help small businesses make smarter decisions, improve cash flow, get paid faster and access capital quickly, include: DueCourse allows small businesses to get paid within hours after sending an invoice, rather than waiting 30, 60 or even 90 days. This means small business owners can focus on doing the things they love, rather than chasing invoices and worrying about when they will get paid. iwoca offers small businesses a flexible, unsecured credit line of up to £100,000, which they can draw down within hours of applying. There are no upfront fees, and businesses can pay back over 12 months, top up or repay early with no penalties. Having served over 10,000 customers since its launch in 2012, iwoca is one of the UK’s leading providers of flexible working capital. MarketInvoice is the world’s largest online invoice finance platform, having provided over ￡1.1bn in funding to UK businesses since 2011. This funding, which was secured against over 70,000 outstanding invoices, has helped 1000’s of businesses unlock cash-flow and achieve their ambitions. Backed by the British Business Bank, at MarketInvoice businesses can choose to fund one invoice at a time or secure funding against all their invoices. Paul Haydock, CEO at DueCourse, says: “Partnering with Xero is the result of hard work by both companies to ensure that our customers receive the best possible experience when using DueCourse with Xero. From the start of our working relationship we’ve developed our product with Xero’s users in mind and being included in the App Marketplace confirms that we are one of their trusted providers of finance to small businesses across the UK.” Colin Goldstein, iwoca Head of Strategic Partnerships, says: “iwoca’s product integration with Xero enables small businesses to access finance through a simple link from their Xero account, making the process even simpler and faster. iwoca’s product is perfectly suited to Xero customers, and this new time-saving is hugely valuable to Xero customers and their accountants. We are delighted to have forged this partnership and look forward to funding many Xero customers.” Anil Stocker, co-founder and CEO says: “It is our stated mission to support the funding needs for businesses of all shapes and sizes by challenging the status quo and finding innovative routes to market. Our service allows businesses to integrate directly with Xero ensuring a speedy set up and easy maintenance saving time and resource. This is yet another step in our journey in using technology to make funding easier for businesses.” Xero on 22nd March announced a series of new integration agreements, that will improve small businesses’ access to capital and credit. Inbound M&A investment into UK computer software companies has increased by 70% over a two- year period, according to a new global M&A report launched on 22 March 2017 by Livingstone, the international mid-market M&A and Debt Advisory firm. The report, The Acquirers – A Global Review, includes analysis of data from deals conducted between 2014 and 2016, across the UK, USA, Europe, and Asia. The data comprises inbound deals and cross-sector investment across the business services, industrial, media & technology, consumer and pharmaceutical industries. The findings show that inbound UK acquisitions of companies operating within the software market increased by 70%, with deal volumes increasing from 37 in 2014 to 64 in 2016 alone. The computer services sector also increased by a notable 41%. Overall, the UK’s media & technology sector grew by a rate of 25% year-on-year in the period, and accounted for nearly a quarter of all inbound M&A deals, up from 20% in 2015. Adding to overall UK M&A growth, the business services sector grew at a rate of nearly 40%, reflecting the ongoing strength of the UK’s service-led economy. Daniel Domberger, a Partner and co-lead of the Media and Technology team at Livingstone, said: “The tech sector has been tipped as a leading light of British business, and 2016 didn’t disappoint. Our findings show that international acquirers and investors are continuing to eye up the UK’s blossoming tech sector, and its future looks positive, regardless of what happens with Brexit. “Several high-profile deals in the tech sector made headlines last year, and contributing to the 70% rise was the acquisition of UK’s biggest tech company, ARM, by Japanese group Softbank. The historical significance of the £24bn deal and the unprecedented value highlights that there is still strong appetite amongst overseas buyers to acquire or invest into high-quality UK companies, and the weaker pound is helping make the high valuations of UK tech assets easier for buyers and investors to deliver. “We have also seen a flurry of disruptive technologies make significant strides forward, including virtual reality, drones and robotics. Tech is becoming the driver for almost all industry sectors, and further investment into the UK’s technology sector will stimulate growth and create jobs.” www.livingstonepartners.com TechM&A into the UK Is Riding High, According to NewResearch NEWS / From Around The World