Hard work pays off for payroll company’s founder as it looks to build on global expansion

● Aberdeen-based firm eyeing growth of up to 50 per cent in current financial year

Companies it has worked with include travel search engine Skyscanner as well as defence, aerospace and security specialist BAE Systems.

And suitably, Aberdeen’s Activpayroll has considerable operations overseas, present in nearly 150 countries, but is looking to become less of an under-the-radar presence, according to chief executive Alison Sellar.

She founded the company in 2001 after working for her parents’ firm Grampian Business Bureau and, when looking to grow its payroll department, launched it as a separate entity. The firm has just moved into new offices in Edinburgh, trebling its growth capacity and able to accommodate 80 staff. Overall headcount numbers about 160 and customers exceed 1,000.

The business covers payroll, expatriate tax and HR, and is the only Scottish global payroll company, Sellar notes. “People are your biggest asset – but also your biggest operational cost,” she states. In fact, the global payroll outsourcing services market is expected to be worth more than $21 billion