A leading payroll and HR management solution for SMEs is to double its UK headcount this year following a huge €254 million funding round.
PayFit, which is based in France, has had an office in Farringdon in London since launching in the UK in 2019.
It has 34 employees in the UK and told BusinessCloud it is aiming to more than double its number of customers – which currently number in the hundreds – again this year.
General Atlantic led the round, with participation from existing investors Eurazeo, Bpifrance and Accel Ventures.
PayFit’s mission is to simplify payroll and HR management, which has become even more important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the many complexities it has introduced for businesses in managing human capital.
The company provides a leading next-gen payroll solution that automates complex and time-intensive HR processes, particularly for what it says are underserved small and medium-sized enterprises.
Its technology platform enables HR managers, finance managers and business owners to easily conduct payroll calculations in markets with complex regulatory requirements, which is a key differentiator amidst the fast-growing HR technology market.
Since its founding in 2015, PayFit has gained over 6,000 clients and had already raised €179m prior to this funding round.
PayFit has successfully expanded into three additional major European markets – Germany, Spain and the UK – and plans to scale from more than 700 current employees to over 1,000 within the next 12 months.
“PayFit’s expansion beyond France into the UK, Spain and Germany demonstrated further validation of our innovative offering and our capacity to scale up,” Firmin Zocchetto, CEO and co-founder, said.
“As we look ahead, we plan to use these new funds to deepen our presence in our existing markets, where we have significant growth potential. At PayFit, we are proud to have built a company with strong foundations, where people are happy to work and that can have a real impact on our clients.
“This Series E funding will allow us to maintain the rapid growth we have achieved since our founding.”
Chris Caulkin, managing director and head of technology for EMEA at General Atlantic, commented: “PayFit has built an innovative and disruptive product supporting the payroll and HR management needs of SMBs across Europe. We see great opportunities ahead for the company as it extends its product offering and continues to capture market share in France and across Europe.
“We are delighted to support PayFit and its management team in this next chapter of growth.”