simPRO secures £262 million-plus investment from K1 Investment Management

As a business, simPRO (Platinum Sponsor of the recent inaugural Security Matters Live one-day online conference and a regular contributor to the magazine) assists field service business owners – among them the management teams of security companies – grow revenue and profitability by reducing their reliance on paper-based workflows.

With a dedication to continuous product innovation, the company – which now has upwards of 400 members of staff on the books and 200,000-plus end users of its systems – has experienced rapid growth as customers here in the UK and around the globe seek to future-proof their businesses with cloud-based, end-to-end software. Those end users include security professionals, electricians, HVAC engineers and data networking specialists.

“This investment marks the next stage of simPRO’s exciting growth journey,” enthused Sean Diljore, the company’s CEO. “Our mission is to build a world wherein field service businesses can thrive. That mission will continue to be our focus as we accelerate our expansion and product development efforts. We’ll continue adding to our suite of features and build further capabilities to support even more business owners.”

As well as underpinning the recent acquisitions, the funding supplied by K1 Investment Management will be used to accelerate product investment and scale global operations across the business which operates out of offices in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia (where the global headquarters is based in Brisbane), Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. Going forward, the leadership teams of simPRO, ClockShark and AroFlo will operate independently of each other, including when it comes to continued service on existing products.

Diljore continued: “We’re thrilled to welcome ClockShark and AroFlo to the simPRO family. Both companies are leaders in their specialisms and have incredibly valuable product offers that will benefit our combined customer bases and actively assist our customers to increase their revenues. We look forward to growing together and building a range of solutions for end users.”

Time-tracking and scheduling

ClockShark is a time-tracking and scheduling software solution built for construction and field service as well as franchises who want a simpler way in which to track employee time for dispersed teams, run payroll quickly and accurately and fully understand job costs. Using ClockShark’s solutions, over 8,000 customers have replaced the hassle of paper timesheets with software that makes it easier to manage their work, teams, time and, ultimately, the bottom line.

“We’re excited about the new way forward with simPRO and K1 Investment Management,” stated Cliff Mitchell, ClockShark’s CEO. “It opens up many opportunities for ClockShark as a company and, indeed, for the customers whom we serve. We chose to move forward with simPRO because of its global footprint which will provide us with access to additional markets, customers and resources relevant to ClockShark’s customers.”

For its part, AroFlo is a cloud-based field service management system for trade and construction industries with over 25,000 users across Australia and New Zealand. The business helps organisations to transform how they manage customer relationships, maintain assets, track inventory, run compliance, schedule teams and optimise cash flow. Highly scalable and adaptable to any operational requirements, the AroFlo solution affords office and field-based teams the power of cloud-based automation and reporting at their fingertips.

Commenting on the new arrangement, AroFlo’s CEO Guy Arrowsmith explained: “This opportunity with simPRO and K1 Investment Management allows us to continue on our growth trajectory, while at the same time providing the same great product and service for our customers. We’re excited to see what the future holds for all of our brands and what we can do as a collective for the industries we serve.”

Combined, the three platforms are trusted by more than 17,000 businesses and 320,000 end users. Continued expansion is anticipated in all geographies presently served by the companies.

Global growth momentum

K1 Investment Management is a global investment firm that serves to build category-leading enterprise software companies. It partners with strong management teams of high-growth technology businesses to help them achieve successful outcomes.

With over 110 professionals, K1 Investment Management and its operating affiliate, namely K1 Operations LLC, “changes industry landscapes” with operationally-focused growth strategies designed to rapidly scale portfolio companies. Since inception, the firm has partnered with over 170 enterprise software companies including Apttus, Buildium, Checkmarx, Clarizen, ControlUp, Emburse, FMG Suite, Granicus, IronScales, Litera Microsystems, Onit, Rave Mobile Safety, RFPIO, Smarsh, WorkForce Software and Zapproved.

“K1 Investment Management sought to invest in a global category leader that’s transforming the way in which field service operators do business,” said Simon Yu, senior vice president at K1 Investment Management. “simPRO’s global growth momentum will only accelerate with the complementary acquisitions of ClockShark and AroFlo. We’re thrilled to partner with Sean and his team in creating a platform that can support the broadest range of customers with Best-of-Breed solutions.”

Based in New York and San Francisco, Level Equity is a growth equity firm firmly focused on providing capital to rapidly growing software and Internet companies. The firm manages over $2.9 billion across a series of long-term committed investment partnerships.

*Further information about simPRO can be accessed online at www.simprogroup.com/uk

**Additional detail concerning K1 Investment Management is available at www.k1capital.com