Ageras Group Acquires Europe's Leading Invoicing Software Zervant
Ageras Group announced today that they acquired Zervant, the Finland-based leading invoicing software company, adding the product to its growing suite of small businesses software.
PHILADELPHIA, September 7, 2021 (Newswire.com) - Ageras Group, a group of companies backed by Investcorp Technology Partners ("ITP") that offers a range of software solutions to small businesses; known for their online marketplace Ageras.com, helping business owners save time and money by comparing quotes from qualified accountants, announced today that it has acquired Zervant. The company was founded in 2010, and after rapid expansion across Europe, has grown to more than 700,000 registered users who leverage the Zervant software to run their business by issuing invoices, tracking payments and getting paid faster in an intuitive interface.
Long-time friends Mattias Hansson and Tuukka Koskinen founded Zervant because they saw a clear need in the market.
"While there is increased interest in starting small companies throughout Europe, too many fail simply because they don't have their administration under control," said Mattias Hansson, co-founder and CEO of Zervant. "Traditionally this has been a huge hassle, which has led to many failures. We wanted to change that by making sure business owners get paid through Zervant."
Named the most promising fintech startup in the Nordics by Deloitte Digital and True Global Ventures, Zervant is serving the market of microbusinesses, which is expected to grow due to the increasing "freelancer economy." According to Eurostat, there are 41 million microenterprises in Europe, and in the U.S. they account for 31% of all jobs. Issuing annually over two billion invoices in aggregate.
"We have identified a huge, increasing demand for services, like Zervant, to enable the launch and operation of a small company," said Hansson. "The last few years we have grown more than 50% annually, even during the pandemic. And we are thrilled to have found a partner in Ageras that shares the same vision of growth for small business as we do."
Ageras Group has recently been on an acquisition spree, adding accounting software Billy, Tellow and Danish payroll software provider, Salary, to its portfolio in recent years, now has a total of more than one million users in their ecosystem of fintech tools, business software and its online B2B marketplace, with the Zervant acquisition.
"We believe in a one-stop solution for small businesses," said Ageras Co-Founder and CEO Rico Anderson. "We're excited that we can now offer a full suite of solutions that enables business owners to focus on running their business."
This recent acquisition furthers Ageras' mission of becoming a one-stop solution where B2B customers can find solutions for all of their financial service needs.
About Ageras Group
Ageras Group was founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneurs Rico Andersen and Martin Hegelund, who between them have 25 years of experience in building internet companies. Ageras Group started as the online marketplace Ageras.com (matching SMEs with accountants), but has since acquired accounting software Billy and Tellow, payroll software Salary and lastly Zervant. Ageras Group's vision is to enable success for business owners by simplifying their administration. By integrating its solutions in a "cockpit" with invoicing, accounting, banking services, payroll, financing and CRM, it enables business owners to focus on running their business. Ageras Group's solutions, including Zervant, have been used by more than 1 million small businesses in total across twelve countries. The company was bootstrapped for its first five years, until the global private equity firm Investcorp Technology Partners acquired a majority stake in 2017. In 2020 the Dutch bank Rabobank invested in the group through its venture arm, Rabo Frontier Ventures. In 2021 Ageras Group raised $73M from New York-based investment fund Lugard Road Capital. Ageras Group has offices in the US and across Europe and has approx. 250 employees
About Zervant:
Zervant was founded in 2010 by start-up veterans Tuukka Koskinen and Mattias hansson. Having experienced firsthand the frustration of administrative work regarding entrepreneurship, Zervant was born to make the lives of business owners easier and to help them succeed. Zervant's core offering is high-quality invoicing with an uncompromised focus on user experience. Based in Helsinki, Finland, Zervant is the leading invoicing software in Europe, focused on nine core markets: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Netherlands. Zervant employs approximately 40 employees. The rapidly growing service is already loved by +700.000 registered users
Zervant was named the most promising fintech startup in the Nordics by Deloitte Digital and True Global Ventures. Previous investors include i.a. Tesi, Northzone, NFT Ventures, Conor Venture Partners, Fåntell and RoosGruppen, the two last of which both invest their proceeds into Ageras Group.
Contact:
Neil Foote, Ascendant Group, neilfoote@ascendantgroupbranding.com, 214.448.3765
Rico Andersen - CEO, Ageras Group - rian@ageras.com, +45 28 14 62 92
Mattias Hansson - CEO, Zervant mattias.hansson@zervant.com, +358 45 267 3007
Source: Ageras Group