Celebrating the UK’s scale-up community

November 2, 2022

On Thursday night, the ClearCourse team are heading to Tobacco Dock for the Business Leader Scale-Up Awards evening, honouring the dynamic scale-up businesses fuelling the UK economy. As a team, we’ll be there to celebrate ClearCourse as a finalist in two categories – Technology Scale-Up and Overall Scale-Up Business.

 

Over the course of our own journey, we’ve found that a core part of being a scale-up is ambition. ClearCourse was launched to be a diverse and innovative group that approached software development differently. We’re now a four-year-old business on target to have 1000 people employed next year – just one example of the aspirations and achievements that we can expect to see highlighted at this year’s ceremony.


But while we’re focused on advancing our own growth, it’s important not to overlook the vital wider ecosystem in which we operate. When we talk about boosting the economy and supporting local communities, people are rightly inclined to mention start-ups as a driving force for investment and innovation. Less discussed is the integral role of scale-up businesses – those who have been through their first rounds of funding, who see a high rate of growth and have built the strong foundation of expertise and support required to scale even further.

Making a payment at a furniture store

In the technology sector and beyond, scale-ups are a lynchpin to the collective process of growth itself. How so? They attract investment, having built the capability to mitigate early risks and promise more stable returns. They create new jobs and lean into untapped pools of talent, striving to build an integrated and focused workforce from the small and mighty teams we see at businesses just starting out. And finally, they encourage new thinking and innovation, with the interest and material capacity to truly invest in the potential of their partners and the people within their teams. The time and commitment that go into scaling a business cannot be underestimated. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart, but it can also be incredibly rewarding – and its ripple effect is huge.


At ClearCourse, our ‘Working Better Together’ philosophy echoes our approach to growth as a group. Scaling up doesn’t just describe our development as a collective, but it applies to the integrated back-office infrastructure we provide for our product teams, and the collaborative way that we develop our payments service alongside growing businesses.



To be recognised as one of the organisations helping to drive this vital part of the UK business world is a huge accolade, and we’re looking forward to celebrating the success and achievements of every business in the scale-up community on Thursday night.

ClearCourse welcomes new Chief Financial Officer, Sacha Bielawski

By Justin Still • June 25, 2025
LONDON, 25 June 2025 : ClearCourse, a provider of industry-specific software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs and targeted enterprises, today announced the appointment of Sacha Bielawski as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Sacha will lead ClearCourse’s financial strategy, working with senior leaders to accelerate organic growth, drive profitable sales, and deliver the company’s goal of being a leading engine powering small and mid-sized businesses across the UK. Before joining ClearCourse, Sacha spent nearly nine years as Chief Financial Officer at Coople, a leading digital staffing agency, where he led corporate expansion initiatives and oversaw the Group’s financial strategy. He has also held senior roles within private equity and investment firms, where he focused on identifying and scaling high-potential businesses through strategic M&A, financial restructuring and investment projects across Europe and the US. Sacha builds on the achievements of Mark Grafton who will be leaving the company later this month. “We’re delighted to welcome Sacha Bielawski as ClearCourse’s new CFO at this exciting time in the company’s continued evolution” said Christina Hamilton, CEO. “His extensive expertise in scaling businesses, leading growth acceleration programmes and driving innovation and efficiency will be instrumental in delivering our next phase of growth.” “I am delighted to join ClearCourse at such a pivotal time in its journey,” Sacha Bielawski said . “I believe the company is well-positioned to capitalise on the convergence of software and payments, an accelerating trend that presents compelling organic growth opportunities over the coming years. “As ClearCourse continues to acquire software companies in high growth verticals, I look forward to leveraging my entrepreneurial experience to engage with business owners considering a partnership with ClearCourse and to support them post-acquisition to grow further within our platform. “ClearCourse is a business with significant potential, and I am excited to contribute to its next chapter of growth and long-term value creation.”

Software and Payments Specialist ClearCourse Acquires Leading Hospitality Software Provider, Rezcontrol by Avon Data Systems Ltd.

June 10, 2025
LONDON 10th June 2025 : ClearCourse, the provider of industry-specific software and embedded payment solutions for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of Rezcontrol by Avon Data Systems Ltd., a leading property management systems (PMS) provider for the hospitality industry. Avon Data Systems Ltd. is one of the largest privately-owned UK technology partners in the property management systems industry, with clients ranging from big hotel groups such as Fuller’s Hotels and Inns to independent hotels across the UK. Founded in 1986, Avon Data Systems Ltd. launched its flagship product, Rezcontrol, in 2020, combining over 30 years’ experience in providing software for the hospitality sector with the latest technology to offer its customers a sophisticated and intuitive tool that’s adaptable to their changing needs. Today, Rezcontrol serves over 450 hotels across the UK, helping them to streamline operations, from guest communications and housekeeping to payments and distribution. Whether a full-service hotel or a pub with rooms, Rezcontrol can be tailored to a customers’ needs, and offers many additional integrations from table reservations and point-of-sale, to CRM and revenue management. A key differentiator for Avon Data Systems Ltd. is its commitment to providing white-glove, personalised support to its customers. Many of its colleagues have direct hotel and hospitality experience, enabling them to act as a collaborative, knowledgeable partner to hotels. This ensures that their customers not only gain a state-of-the-art PMS but also benefit from a knowledgeable team focused on helping them maximize Rezcontrol's potential for their businesses. Joining the ClearCourse group at this time will support Avon Data Systems Ltd.’s ambitious growth plans to become the go-to-solution in the market. The cross-selling opportunities with other leading products in ClearCourse’s portfolio, such as TISSL and Giftpro, will provide Rezcontrol customers with a one-stop-shop for PMS, POS, gifting, embedded payments and more. ClearCourse aims to become a leading engine powering small businesses in the UK by putting big tech solutions in the hands of founders and their growing businesses. This latest addition to the group marks an important step in line with this vision. Christina Hamilton, CEO of Clearcourse said : “It is fantastic to welcome Avon Data Systems into the ClearCourse group as part of our Retail & Hospitality Software division, which will further strengthen our offering in this high-growth sector. Avon Data Systems’ Rezcontrol is an innovative solution that puts cutting-edge software in the hands of growing businesses who need them most. We are excited by the natural integration points of Rezcontrol into our existing customer bases, strengthening the ClearCourse value proposition as an integrated and comprehensive solution set for our customers.” Sarah Cade, Managing Director of Avon Data Systems Ltd. said : “We’re really excited to be joining the ClearCourse group to supercharge our next stage of growth. For the past 30 years, we’ve been working with our customers to ensure we are providing them with the innovative solutions they need to run their businesses smoothly and efficiently. ClearCourse is the ideal strategic partner to continue building on our goal of becoming the go-to solution for hospitality businesses looking for reliable, integrated software and payment solutions.”