Software firm Sage expands offering with CakeHR deal

A North East software firm has bought a cloud-based HR operator.

Sage has acquired CakeHR in a deal bosses say will boost the Newcastle-based operator’s support for small businesses.

CakeHR is known for helping small firms simplify and automate HR tasks, providing 27,000 users worldwide with services that support areas such as wage payments and expenses approval management.

Officials say it will continue to serve its customers before being offered to Sage’s existing customers in the UK in 2020.

Lee Perkins, Sage chief product officer, said: “Building and acquiring great technology to help accountants and businesses focus on what matters most is a critical part of Sage becoming a great Software as a Service company.

“CakeHR provides easy-to-use cloud-based HR services that help businesses drive productivity and provide great experiences for their people.

“We have been hugely impressed with the people and technology at CakeHR, particularly their ability to enable employees to self-manage, and are delighted to welcome them to Sage.”

Kaspars Upmanis, chief executive of CakeHR, added: “By combining our experience and expertise with Sage, CakeHR will be able to further its vision of providing an easy-to-use, powerful and always-accessible HR platform to any organisation.

“HR deserves better and must be simplified.

“Joining the ranks of Sage has brought us closer to that goal than ever before.”

The announcement of the deal comes just days after Sage revealed it had reached an agreement to offload its Sage Pay operation to global payments company Elavon.

Bosses expect the transaction to complete in the second quarter of the 2020 financial year, with the business anticipating a £180 million statutory profit upon disposal.