News and Views

11 December 2024, London, UK: ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and payments for UK SMEs, is pleased to announce the appointment of FinTech, Software and Payments veteran Simon Black as Non-Executive Director. Simon has a track record of leading technology companies through rapid periods of growth and brings a wealth of experience in strategy, branding, M&A and fundraising. Simon has over three decades of experience in Fintech software and Payments. He is the former CEO of PPRO which he transformed from a German start-up into a global leader in alternative payments, via international expansion and multiple successful funding rounds. Prior to PPRO, Simon was CEO of SagePay, where he led the business to 10x revenue growth. Simon currently advises growth-stage companies and private equity investors on driving innovation, market disruption and long-term growth. This appointment comes at an exciting time for ClearCourse, as the company expands its UK market presence while continuing to provide mission-critical products and services to help customers manage and grow their businesses. Throughout 2024, ClearCourse acquired an additional 4 businesses in ThinkSmart, CSY, Gob2b and Harbour Assist as part of its strategy to build a strong presence in key vertical markets characterised by high digital adoption and establishing itself in the fast-growing online and mobile payments space. Christina Hamilton, CEO of ClearCourse, said: “ I am delighted to welcome Simon to the ClearCourse board at a pivotal stage of our growth journey. He shares our ambition of building the business into a major actor in the embedded fintech space. Simon’s impressive track record of scaling payment businesses will be invaluable in supporting ClearCourse grow further in the UK and beyond and we look forward to working closely with him. ” Simon Black, incoming Non-Executive Director, added: “ I am delighted to be joining the board of ClearCourse, an exciting, innovative business with many opportunities as the high demand for embedded payments from SMBs continues unabated. I have known Christina and the Aquiline team for some time, and I have been impressed by ClearCourse’s rapid growth to date. The Group’s winning combination of deep vertical domain expertise and seamless integrated payments is truly market leading. I look forward to supporting ClearCourse’s continued leadership in attractive key sector verticals. ”

London, 17 October 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of Harbour Assist. Founded in 2013 and based in Cornwall, Harbour Assist is a leading cloud-based marina management system that integrates customer relations, communications, asset management, invoicing and reporting into a single, easy-to-use software package. Harbour Assist serves a diverse range of marina and harbour clients across the UK, Canada, Fiji, Mexico, New Zealand, US, Australia, and the Middle East. Their clients include independent operators and multi-site organisations, Trust Ports and public sector such as Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour, Lakeland Leisure Estates, Fowey Harbour, Port of Ramsgate. Harbour Assist’s reach extends to some of the world’s most prominent marinas and harbours. Harbour Assist’s industry-specific software focuses on enhancing administrative efficiency, improving customer service, and providing robust tools for managing moorings, berths, billing, and communication with boat owners. With ClearCourse, the platform will gain access to embedded payment tools as well as additional development resources, enhancing its capability to deliver a greater quantity of features at pace. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer of ClearCourse, said : “We are delighted to welcome Harbour Assist into the ClearCourse Group. As a market leader and disrupter in marine and harbour software, Harbour Assist acquisition underscores our aim for success in 2024. This collaboration will not only enhance the service, and solutions offered to Harbour Assist’s customers but also provide them with access to a broader range of resources and expertise. We eagerly anticipate working with Nick, Graham, and the team to explore new markets, improve operational efficiencies, and deliver an integrated offering to our customers.” Nick Gill and Graham Laidler Co-founders of Harbour Assist said : “It’s very exciting to join the ClearCourse group at this crucial stage in our growth journey. For over a decade, we've earned our reputation by delivering mission-critical software designed and developed by a team of maritime professionals. Leveraging years of practical experience and ongoing customer feedback. Partnering with ClearCourse enables us to expand further and future proof our business by adding a range of innovative and efficient payments solutions, something we are incredibly excited about.” Harbour Assist will be part of the ClearCourse Sports and Leisure division. This announcement follows the recent acquisitions of B2B eCommerce platform GOb2b and retail EPOS solutions provider CSY. With these strategic additions, ClearCourse is poised to leverage enhanced capabilities and resources, driving innovation and delivering superior features to its users. Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, industry-specific technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring over 40 leading software and payments solutions in its core market verticals which are all underpinned by ClearCourse Payments and Services. The terms of the deal are undisclosed.

London, 10 October 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of GOb2b, a specialist B2B eCommerce website platform providing award-winning software to businesses across sectors like Food & Drink, Health & Safety, and Manufacturing. Operating out of Kingsbridge in South Devon, GOb2b has been serving its clients for over 20 years. As a leader in the B2B eCommerce space, it caters to a variety of different customers across the UK and Ireland curating personalised software experiences that can integrate with a range of established systems. GOb2b’s feature-rich software enables its customers to seamlessly integrate features on their own ecommerce platforms such as live search and navigation, pricing and stock updates, accounting systems and complex shipping management options. Understanding the intricacies of B2B operations and various customer requirements, GOb2b serves a wide range of clients, including Viessmann Direct, a business partner of Viessmann UK, supplying high-efficiency heating and renewable energy systems; tyre specialist, Yokohama, and consumer products group, Viatek. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer of ClearCourse, said : “We are excited to welcome GOb2b into the ClearCourse group. This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone in our commitment to delivering business-critical software and solutions to our clients. Their renowned reputation for providing e-commerce platforms and software that help their customers increase revenue while reducing complexity, aligns seamlessly with our values and vision. Together, we will leverage our combined expertise to drive growth and provide our customers with best-in-class tools and solutions, meeting the evolving demands of B2B businesses.” Paul Dorey, Chief Executive Officer, at GOb2b said : “For over 20 years we have delivered high quality, scalable, and reliable software, alongside 24/7 customer care. This is something that ClearCourse will be able to build upon providing an expanded integrated offering for our customers. Choosing ClearCourse was the smartest move for us to reach our ambitious goals, and we can’t wait to get started.” Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, industry-specific technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring over 40 leading software and payments solutions in its core market verticals which are all underpinned by ClearCourse Payments and Services. The terms of the deal are undisclosed.

London, 4 September 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of CSY Retail Systems (“CSY”), an innovative electronic-point-of-sale (“EPOS”) provider for retail businesses in the UK. Following the acquisition, CSY will become part of the ClearCourse Retail & Hospitality division, significantly strengthening the group’s integrated offering in this sector. Based in Nottingham, CSY has been a provider of retail EPOS technology in the UK for over 30 years. A leader in the UK retail software space, the company serves hundreds of customers and provides terminals to retail sites nationwide including garden centres, farm shops, pharmacies and DIY stores. CSY’s solutions support instore and online trading for their customers which include Duchy of Cornwall Nursery, Blue Diamond and Tile Giant. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer of ClearCourse, said: “We are delighted to welcome CSY to the ClearCourse family. CSY is a market-leading brand in the UK retail sector and this acquisition reinforces our commitment to providing our retail customers with cutting-edge software and embedded payment solutions. We look forward to working with the CSY team to further enhance the service and solutions offered to their customers.” Ross Pierrepont, Managing Director at CSY said: “We are delighted to join ClearCourse at this pivotal moment in our growth journey. For over 30 years we have built our reputation by delivering highly-customised EPOS services to our customers, and partnering with ClearCourse will enable us to expand our offering further. Together we look forward to providing market-leading software and payment solutions to our clients whilst continuing to deliver the high quality products and tailored services our customers have come to expect.” Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, industry-specific technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring over 40 leading software and payments solutions in its core market verticals which are all underpinned by ClearCourse Payments and Services. The terms of the deal are undisclosed.

London, 7 February 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payments for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of ThinkSmart Software (“ThinkSmart”), an independent software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) provider delivering an innovative technology for businesses that offer clubs and classes in the UK and Australia as well as other global markets. This strategic acquisition will be integrated as part of ClearCourse’s growing Business Services division. Founded in 2008, ThinkSmart is a scheduling and customer management platform for businesses that conduct classes and take bookings. Today, ThinkSmart serves approximately 2,500 customers predominately within the children’s activities sector, offering a user-friendly, intuitive product which helps “class-based” businesses with managing all day-to-day administration. Its award-winning software helps clients across the tennis, swimming, gymnastics, dance, music and sports sectors automate processes so that they can spend more time managing their business and working with their customers. ThinkSmart’s innovative technology streamlines several business admin tasks, including class scheduling, customer management and communications as well as invoicing and payments systems. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce ThinkSmart as the latest software business to join our group. We look forward to welcoming the ThinkSmart team, led by founder Andy Leigh and UK Managing Director George Bentley, and working with them to enhance their offering across the growing, class-led activities sector. This investment is a further milestone in the growth of ClearCourse which continues to expand in the UK market as well as internationally.” Andrew (Andy) Leigh, Founder and Managing Director of ThinkSmart, commented: “In ClearCourse we have found a likeminded, customer-focused partner that will support a new phase of growth for ThinkSmart. As part of ClearCourse, we will be focused on continuously improving the industry-specific software solutions we offer our customers across the world, as well as looking for opportunities to expand our services.” George Bentley, UK Managing Director said: “ClearCourse has built a unique and compelling group of software companies and payments capabilities, and we are excited to continue growing our business supported by the rich experience and infrastructure now available to us. In particular, working with ClearCourse will enable us to offer our UK growing customer base market-leading, embedded Direct Debit and card payment solutions which will make accepting and managing payments quicker and easier.” Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist servicing SMEs and targeted enterprise customers. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, market-leading technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring 40 leading software and payments solutions in the market verticals in which it operates: Retail & Hospitality, Golf & Leisure, Business Services and Membership Services. Christina Hamilton added: “ClearCourse is a growth company with a clear ambition to help our customers build great businesses with our industry-specific software and embedded payments solutions. We acquire small- and medium-sized businesses and integrate them into the ClearCourse group of companies to benefit their growth and development, while delivering the same for our customers with their own growth aspirations. Our acquisition of ThinkSmart is our first investment in 2024 and marks a successful start to what we expect to be a year of continued growth for ClearCourse.” The terms of the deal are undisclosed.

ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and payments for UK SMEs, announces the appointment of FinTech veteran Nathan Best as Chief Operating Officer.

Mark brings a wealth of experience to the role, having held senior finance positions in publicly traded and privately held technology companies for over 20 years.

ClearCourse has officially been named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing (2023) by Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture. Great Place to Work’s culture experts analysed thousands of employee surveys, assessing people’s holistic experiences of well-being at work to determine the UK's Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing list. The surveys asked employees to comment on how their company supports their work-life balance, sense of fulfilment, job satisfaction, psychological safety and financial security. Evaluations also included assessing how well the organisation could deliver consistency of their employee experience across all departments and seniority levels.

As a software and payments business that spends every day developing and implementing technology solutions for our clients, it’s always enjoyable to work with businesses that have huge experience behind them. Businesses that have seen trends develop and emerge – businesses that have ridden the highs and lows that have naturally come along. Of course, to thrive in business for decades or more requires vision, foresight and tremendous acumen – and a deep understanding of what customers need today, and – perhaps more importantly – tomorrow. That’s precisely what Voisins department store in St Helier, Jersey, has in abundance. The UK’s oldest family-owned department store was founded in 1837 and has been using ClearCourse brand Swan Retail’s solutions for the best part of two decades to help run both the in-store and online parts of its fashion, beauty and homeware business via its SRS (Swan Retail System) , Cygnus EPOS and FUSE customer loyalty app .