THE COMPANY

With staff in the UK and Australia, MyWorkpapers (MWP) initially launched in 2009 as a flagship auditing application before evolving into a suite of specialised workpaper solutions for the many types of engagements undertaken by accountancy firms. Its award-winning software is designed to improve work efficiency and collaboration while ensuring compliance and workflow production.

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CHALLENGE

Compared to 2-3 years ago, potential buyers in the software space were becoming increasingly focussed on profitability. Therefore, a key challenge was to highlight how the business was scaling revenue as anticipated with the path to a substantial profit margin being extremely clear.

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OUTCOME

Shaw & Co had sold a number of SaaS businesses throughout 2023 and had sold a smaller accountancy software business to a major overseas buyer in early 2024. Using our active relationships in the space we were able to encourage and manage interest in MWP from several players, creating the perfect conditions for a deal that would work both for the sellers and the buyer.

The successful buyer was private equity-backed Bright Software Group which had established a suite of industry-leading solutions for accountants, bookkeepers, SMEs and payroll bureaus across the UK and Ireland. The deal brought together the technological solutions of the two brands to create a more integrated, game-changing cloud native suite of accounting software able to deliver an end-to-end service to their clients.

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TESTIMONIAL

“Shaw & Co acted as commercial advisor and was extremely supportive in our acquisition by Bright and have helped us to deliver a deal that looks set to offer a wide range of benefits to our mutual clients and the wider accountancy market.”

Rich Neal, Chief Executive Officer of MyWorkpapers