Founded in November
1978, the first version of IRIS software was developed for
accountancy practices to automate the production of statutory
accounts.
In October 2000, revenues had grown to c£9m and Lloyds TSB
Development Capital Limited (LDC) took a majority stake in the
business, valuing the company at £30m.
In July 2004, revenues had grown to almost £20m and Hg Capital
backed a management buyout (“MBO”), valuing the company at
£100m.
In July 2007, Hellman & Friedman LLC majority funded
the £500m merger of IRIS and Computer
Software Group plc (founded in 1984 and originally backed by
Elderstreet and NatWest) to form an enlarged business to trade
under the IRIS brand umbrella.
Today, revenues are well over £100m, we have c60,000 customers
(primarily in the UK) and well over 1,000 employees designing,
developing, selling and supporting our market leading range of
software applications.
How the Group is organised
The Group is divided into five Business Units, each with very
strong domain or specialist expertise.
They are each run by a Business Unit MD who has full
responsibility for the products, sales and service of his/her
business area:
- Accountancy Practice Software & Solutions
- Legal & Compliance Software & Services
- Payroll & HR Solutions & Services
- Not For Profit, Membership & Major Business Solutions
- Accounting & Business Solutions for SMEs
The Group Directors (Finance; Technology; Information;
Marketing) work very closely with the MDs to set high standards of
delivery across the whole organisation and .to provide a consistent
experience for all IRIS customers.
The management team, led by Martin Leuw (Group Chief Executive since 2001)
have all invested personally in the business, as have a large
proportion of IRIS’ employees.
They all have extensive experience of the technology sector, a
capability that is demonstrated by the outstanding performance of
the business and are committed to IRIS’ long term sustainable
growth and market leadership.
