Ciphr acquires employee benefits platform Avantus

Ciphr Group has moved into the employee benefits business, with the acquisition of Avantus.

Avantus, founded in 2005, serves over 400 businesses globally through its intuitive, and fully customisable, employee benefits and rewards platform, FlexGenius, and its popular, white-labelled solution MyWorkPal.

This is the third acquisition in 18 months for the ECI-backed group, which bought Marshalls (now Ciphr eLearning) in April 2023 and Shape Payroll in June this year, and builds on Ciphr’s strategy to acquire UK businesses that complement its core HCM offering. It’s also its largest acquisition to date – significantly expanding Ciphr’s customer proposition to include employee benefits and wellbeing for the first time.

Avantus’ robust platform enables employers to deliver unlimited, personalised benefits choices to multi-generational workforces with diverse needs and differing expectations and priorities. It can help strengthen organisations’ Employee Value Proposition, support their talent retention, recruitment and recognition strategies, and streamline the admin process for HR. And it empowers employees to manage and see the value of their eligible core and voluntary benefits, such as salary sacrifice, medical and dental cover, retail discounts, pensions, and financial protection, in one central, easy-to-use, portal.

Philip Curtis, Avantus’ co-founder and CEO, and his 30-strong team will also join Ciphr Group from today.

Sion Lewis, CEO of Ciphr, says the acquisition will accelerate Ciphr’s growth in the UK market and beyond, and underscores the company’s continuing commitment to amplifying HR’s pivotal role in delivering business success.

He says: “This is an exciting acquisition for Ciphr, and we’re delighted to welcome Philip and the Avantus team to the group.

“Avantus has a great reputation across the benefits and rewards industry for creating functionality-rich, people-centric technology that aims to make our working lives better. It’s redefining and democratising employee benefits as we know it. Giving people greater autonomy to choose or approve the benefits they genuinely want or need, and 24/7 access to manage their choices and see their total rewards statement anywhere, anytime.

“Retaining staff has been a key challenge for UK organisations this year. And we know from customer research that ‘benefits’ are a real value-add and top priority for HR teams – helping to reduce attrition and support employee wellbeing. A strong benefits offer has many advantages and positive effects for businesses, HR teams, and their employees – impacting engagement levels, work/life balance, morale, and productivity. It can also be a deciding factor when people are choosing to join or stay at an organisation.

“Ultimately, people are an organisation’s greatest asset, and if you want your business to grow and succeed, you’ve got to look after them. Employee benefits and rewards are not just a ‘nice to have’: they are integral to running a successful organisation where employees want to work.”

Lewis adds: “This acquisition will truly enhance Ciphr’s HCM proposition and is an important step on our growth journey to becoming one of the UK’s top technology companies – providing cutting-edge HR, payroll, learning, recruitment and benefits software and services. One that not only serves its core market – UK-based, medium and large organisations – but also is the provider of choice for companies based overseas looking to expand into Europe and the UK. Together, Ciphr and Avantus will be able to deliver an even better experience, and even better technologies, for our customers and their people.”

It’s business as usual for Avantus’ clients. They can expect a seamless transition, with continued dedicated support from the Avantus team.

Philip Curtis, CEO of Avantus, says: “We are absolutely delighted that Avantus has become part of the Ciphr Group.

“With 20 years of experience behind us, our priority was to partner with an organisation that believes in, and shares, our customer-first ethos, and is committed to supporting us in our mission to deliver the very best in employee benefits technology.

“Integrating with Ciphr will enable us to provide our existing and prospective customers with a comprehensive, end-to-end people management solution. Employees will benefit from a seamless experience, with all their needs met in one place.

“We are really excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, and are very much looking forward to working together with the Ciphr team to continue our growth journey.”

Stephen Roberts, partner at ECI, says: “Benefits has long been a focus for our M&A strategy, and we’re delighted to bring Avantus, a high-quality and fast-growth business, into Ciphr. Employee benefits is a rapidly growing market as employers seek to improve their value proposition and retain top talent in a competitive labour market. We are looking forward to working together to deliver an even better service to HR teams across the UK.”

Ciphr is the go-to HR software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, employee benefits, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Based in Reading, Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.

More than 800 organisations use people management solutions from Ciphr, including Volkswagen Group UK, Lifetime Training, Crisis UK, Bensons for Beds, Natural History Museum, the Met Office, Financial Conduct Authority, Barnardo's, Police Scotland, Greater London Authority, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and the Irish Universities Association.

For more information, please visit: www.ciphr.com.

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Media enquiries:
Emma-Louise Jones, digital PR manager at Ciphr
e: ejones@ciphr.com

Chris Boddice, chief marketing officer at Ciphr
e: cboddice@ciphr.com
Website: www.ciphr.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ciphr

About Ciphr
Ciphr is the go-to HR software and solutions partner for medium and large organisations in the UK. Its integrated HR, payroll, benefits and rewards, learning and recruitment software, services and content provide invaluable insights to HR teams to inform their people strategy and grow and develop their organisations. Ciphr is on a mission to amplify the voice and value of HR through intelligent people data solutions that help HR be heard – in the boardroom and across the business.

Ciphr Group is a privately held company backed by ECI Partners and headquartered in Reading. Over 230 employees work across the group, which includes Ciphr, Shape Payroll, and Avantus.

About Avantus
Now in its 20th year, Avantus has extensive experience in delivering highly-valued employee benefits platforms. Thanks to its cutting-edge technology and a strong focus on customer service, Avantus has built a loyal following, with over 400 customers in the UK and globally.

Avantus offers its solutions both direct to market and via a white-labelled proposition, with customers appreciating the ability to configure and adapt the products to their requirements.

With integrated reward and recognition programmes, Avantus empowers employers to engage effectively and creatively with their employees, adding a real boost to recruitment and retention.

Avantus operates from its headquarters in Guildford, Surrey.