IT firm to double workforce on back of Swedish takeover deal
One of Scotland’s fastest-growing technology businesses has been snapped up by a Swedish firm in a deal which is set to spark a major expansion drive.
Edinburgh-based Intelligent Point of Sale (Intelligentpos), which helps retailers better manage stock using tablet computers, has been acquired by financial services technology firm izettle.
izettle, which has more than one million small business clients, said it now plans to expand the Edinburgh operation with additional jobs and further investment in the product.
The Scottish firm was launched from co-founder Robin Knox’s kitchen just three years ago. Although no figure has been given for the cash-and-shares deal, it will mean a windfall for the founders and the company’s backers including Ian Gray, a former Bank of Scotland managing director. Gray is a member of London-based angel investor syndicate 24Haymarket which has invested in the firm since June 2015.
Knox, 29, told The Scotsman that the acquisition was “100 per cent the right move for the business at the right time. We have worked with izettle for the past three years and have been looking at a closer relationship over the past 12 months.
“As a much larger company they will be able to really leverage our products and take them into new markets.”
It will mean izettle can offer point of sale, payments and financing services for small businesses under one umbrella.
Intelligentpos currently employs 45 people and Knox said he expects that to grow to around 80 within 12 months.
Knox, who is chief executive and will be chief product officer following the takeover, founded the company along with chief technology officer Paul Walton. It was supported by The Prince’s Trust, Scottish Enterprise, and the Scottish Edge initiative.
Some €500 million (£420m) worth of transactions now pass through its systems. As well as retailers, the firm works with bars and restaurants to provide a bird’s eye view of their tables.
Jacob de Geer, chief executive of Stockholm-based izettle, which also has offices in London, said: “The acquisition of the talented team and great product at intelligentpos is yet another step towards izettle’s mission of providing small businesses with a wide range of services and features that are critical to helping them grow and build their empires.”
The Edinburgh firm’s app was used on some 80 terminals by pop-up bar and event operators during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Recent client win Wonder Bars operated ipad terminals with the firm’s software across its six bars at Glastonbury this year.