Sage Group completes £78m sale of US payroll business

The Sage Group Plc has completed the disposal of its US-based payroll outsourcing business.

The deal, announced in January, saw Gateshead-based Sage transfer ownership of Sage Payroll Solutions (SPR) to workforce management software maker iSolved for £78m.

SPR generated a turnover of £38m in the year to September 30 2018 but made an operating loss of £1m.

iSolved is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and backed by tech-focused private equity house Accel-KKR.

Speaking in January, the CEO of iSolved HCM, Dave Dawson, said: “SPR payroll customers and licensees will now have access to cutting-edge HCM technology that includes employee engagement, performance and collaboration, benefits enrollment, time and attendance, as well as a payroll platform that is ideal for today’s employer.

“iSolved HCM has experienced phenomenal growth over the last few years, and this acquisition dramatically expands the users and businesses who trust iSolved for their workforce management needs.”

Sage Group, which appointed a new CEO in November last year, said the disposal formed part of a strategy to focus on subscription software solutions in, or with a pathway to, Sage Business Cloud.