HgCapital committing £17m to investment in Payworks

(Sharecast News) - HgCapital Trust confirmed on Monday that it would commit around £17m to a new investment in Payworks, a Canadian provider of human capital management solutions, as part of a wider deal led by private equity manager Hg. The FTSE 250 company said the investment, made through the Hg Genesis Fund alongside other institutional clients, formed part of a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating Payworks' growth, diversification and product development. The transaction terms were not disclosed.

It said that following the deal its liquid resources available for deployment, including a £375m credit facility of which £28m was drawn, were estimated at £366m, equivalent to 15% of its net asset value of £2.5bn as of 30 June.

The investment reduced its outstanding commitments to Hg transactions to about £1.7bn, or 70% of net asset value.

Interim results to the end of June would be published on 15 September.

Founded 25 years ago, Winnipeg-based Payworks provides workforce management software to Canadian employers and employs more than 600 staff nationwide.

"The Payworks ownership group is excited to welcome Hg to our partnership," said co-founder Barbara Gamey.

"Their investment enables us to accelerate our innovation and value creation agenda, positioning Payworks for sustained leadership and diversification in the Canadian market."

Hg said its customer research in Canada found Payworks' product to be "best-in-class" with the highest satisfaction levels.

Alexander Johnson and Hector Guinness at Hg added: "We look forward to supporting the business in its next era of growth."

Robert Citrino, principal at Hg, said the partnership offered "an exciting opportunity to accelerate innovation and reach more Canadians" by combining Payworks' domestic expertise with Hg's global human capital management and software experience.

At 1055 BST, shares in HgCapital Trust were down 0.4% at 496p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.