Datchet: Penningtons Manches advises Iris on acquisition of Octopus HR

Penningtons Manches has advised Datchet-based IRIS Software Group on its acquisition of the award-winning technology firm Octopus HR.

The deal cemented IRIS as a leading technology provider within both the UK human-capital-management and accountancy sectors. The Octopus SaaS-based HR solution has dominated the industry’s micro to SME business segment since 2002.

As a result of the acquisition, IRIS now has an integrated HR and payroll solution to serve microbusinesses and multinationals, and anything in between. This successful deal has also proved the catalyst for the formation of IRIS Human Capital Management. With nearly 40,000 customers and over 300 employees, this is now one of the largest providers of people-critical software to businesses in the UK.

Will Axtell, corporate partner at Penningtons Manches, led a multidisciplinary team of corporate, intellectual-property, real-estate, tax and employment lawyers.

Oliver Shaw, CEO of the new IRIS Human Capital Management, said of the acquisition: “In 2014, we were delighted to acquire Cascade HR, an award-winning HR and payroll software vendor which had long focused on larger businesses with up to 10,000 employees. Like Cascade and IRIS payroll, Octopus has experienced consistently impressive double-digit revenue growth due to the team’s commitment to outstanding technological capabilities, high levels of service and investment in the cloud. But Cascade was unable to serve much smaller firms, and this left a gap in our portfolio. By combining Octopus with our KashFlow bookkeeping and payroll products, IRIS can now provide a business-cloud suite for small organisations. 

“Penningtons Manches provided very high-quality services and legal support.  Axtell and his team were a pleasure to work with.”