19 October 2021

GetBusy plc

Trading Update and Bolt-on Acquisitions for SmartVault

GetBusy plc (AIM: GETB), a leader in productivity software for professionals and financial services, is pleased to provide an update on trading and announce the completion of two bolt-on technology acquisitions within SmartVault, DocDown and Quoters.

Quoters (www.quoters.io) automates proposals and quotes, simplifying a core part of the client workflow for accountants and financial services professionals. DocDown (www.docdown.io) uses online web forms, web hooks and APIs to automate the population of forms and templates, removing the need for error-prone manual transfer of information.

Together, these bolt-on acquisitions, which have been executed on attractive terms for the Group given the consideration is weighted to future performance, are expected to accelerate SmartVault's product roadmap across client workflows and its go-to-market strategy into the wider financial and professional services market.

Financial details

GetBusy is paying a non-material amount of upfront cash for each asset, with a cash earn-out payment in early 2023 of 1x annualised recurring revenue ("ARR") from the acquired products as at 31 December 2022.  The respective earn-out payments are capped at US$0.5m each, with the total potential consideration being funded from the Company's existing cash resources and such that neither acquisition constitutes a substantial transaction pursuant to AIM Rule 12.  

The short-term investment in development and commercialisation is not expected to be material, however once integrated into SmartVault and tailored for its customer base, both products are expected to start to contribute to revenue during 2022.  In the case of both acquisitions, the founders will be retained to accelerate the integration and to ensure swift and complete knowledge transfer to the SmartVault team.

Rationale

SmartVault is a leading cloud-based productivity, document management and storage software solution with a substantial market share in the US accounting, bookkeeping and tax markets.  Quoters and DocDown will be integrated into SmartVault, broadening the offering into other core elements of customer workflows.

The Group expects to integrate and launch these acquired capabilities to new and existing customers over the next 15 months. Coupled with SmartVault's other planned technological enhancements, they provide the opportunity to significantly enhance average revenue per user.

Go-to-market strategy

The total available market in the core US accounting and bookkeeping market for SmartVault is estimated by the Company to exceed $800m in ARR. In addition, SmartVault is developing a foothold and growing momentum in the broader US financial services sector following the launch of its Certified Vault product earlier this year. The acquisitions form part of the Group's strategy to accelerate penetration of these adjacent markets, which the Company estimates to be significantly larger than the core accountancy market.

Trading update

Trading has remained robust since the half-year, with progress made in all elements of the Group's strategy.  The recurring revenue growth rate from H1 (12% at constant currency) has been sustained in Q3, and net cash at 30 September 2021 was up £0.3m at £2.3m.  The Board looks forward to the final quarter of 2021 and into 2022 with increasing confidence.

Daniel Rabie, CEO of GetBusy, comments:

"We are delighted to welcome DocDown and Quoters into the GetBusy family with a common goal to make professionals productive and happy.

"We know our clients spend valuable billable hours initiating client engagement and need more help streamlining administrative tasks so they can focus on fee-earning activities. This is compounded by the need for professionals to navigate increasing complexities around privacy legislation, cyber security concerns and flexible work patterns.  Our growing solution portfolio is specifically tailored to manage this workload, allowing our customers to be more efficient, profitable, compliant and differentiated.

"Following the two acquisitions announced today, we have a clear roadmap to integrate these new functionalities into our rapidly growing SmartVault product, providing additional value to our substantial user base and becoming even more embedded into our clients' digital infrastructure.

"We are excited about the future with our growing capabilities, combined with an expanding market opportunity, leaving us well-placed to execute our ambition of sustained double digit recurring revenue growth and a doubling of ARR within 5 years." 

A video by CEO, Daniel Rabie, discussing the Group's strategy and acquisitions is available to watch here: https://bit.ly/GETB1021

Enquiries

Hilary Buchanan / Andy Bryant

About GetBusy

GetBusy's suite of software applications streamline complex admin tasks for over 68,000 fee-earning professionals, enabling enhanced productivity and security anytime, anywhere.