Horizon Capital takes majority stake in TOP SOURCE WORLDWIDE

In December 2020, Horizon Capital acquired TopSource, a provider of outsourced payroll services, and simultaneously acquired PEO Worldwide, an employer of record and outsourced HR solutions business to launch a new employment compliance group. The two businesses were combined into a group with contracted revenue, more than nine hundred clients and service delivery across Europe and APAC. The transaction was structured as a buy-and-build platform, with significant follow-on capital ringfenced to support an intensive acquisition strategy. Several potential acquisition targets were under active review at the time of the announcement. The founders of both TopSource and PEO remained with the business and reinvested alongside Horizon Capital. Guil Hastings, co-founder of TopSource, became Group CEO, and Paul Sleath, co-founder of PEO, became Global Head of EoR. They were joined by Chairman Martin Smith, former CEO of compliance group Alcumus, and CFO Nick Wain, who joined from Zellis, a global HR and payroll provider. In its third year, Horizon Capital completed its fifth platform investment, acquiring a majority stake in enterprise software provider Sapphire Solutions, and completed twenty-one acquisitions for its portfolio companies. The year also saw Horizon Capital realise investments in telematics software provider Connexas and workforce management software provider Total Mobile.