Basware Acquires UK-Based e-Procurement Company

Basware, a provider of e-invoicing and purchase-to-pay solutions, has acquired Procserve, a UK provider of public sector e-procurement systems. The acquisition significantly strengthens Basware’s position in the public sector, combining Procserve’s UK government experience with Basware’s established global expertise in purchase-to-pay and e-invoicing.

Headquartered in London, Procserve has been serving the UK government’s e-commerce strategy since 2006. Its eProcurement networks are used by over 33,000 organizations to buy, sell, and share information within online communities. The Commerce Networks of both organizations will complement each other seamlessly and will enable government bodies to operate more efficiently by automating the purchase-to-pay process, freeing up time and money that can be invested in frontline services.

“We have witnessed a continued push from governments and public sector to adopt e-invoicing, as the technology is becoming more commonplace and the benefits are realized more widely,” says Esa Tihilä, CEO, Basware Corporation. “Procserve has a very strong and recognized position within the public sector and among e-procurement service providers and is a well-known service provider among governmental entities in the UK.”

To complement Procserve’s existing offer, Basware brings scalability, global and financial services, and the experience of working alongside international governments. The UK public sector has pledged to harness technology to drive efficiencies, and the expanded portfolio that Basware and Procserve now offer presents an opportunity for new synergies across electronic payment and procurement.

“As part of its strategy, Basware continuously supports organic growth with acquisitions in its key markets,” continues Tihilä. “This acquisition will make Basware the market leader for the public sector in the UK. Through acquisitions over recent years, Basware is already the leading e-invoicing operator in the Nordics, the Benelux market and Germany, and now Basware significantly strengthens its foothold in the UK.”

“We’re delighted to be joining Basware and excited about the new opportunities our combined portfolios will bring,” says Nigel Clifford, CEO of Procserve. “Procserve has been working with the UK public sector for almost ten years. That experience, alongside Basware’s position as a global leader, means together we have a unique offering that can help transform financial processes for the public sector.”

On March 27, the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment (SBEE) Bill gained royal assent from the Queen, effectively signing the legislation into law. This paves the way for widespread adoption of e-invoicing and e-procurement in the UK public sector, so that, in the words of the bill, “there is a more efficient environment for suppliers and improved payment performance.” By driving technology strategies underpinned by e-invoicing, the public sector can help to boost the economy, prevent fraud and ensure transparency across the millions of payments made by government bodies each year.

“With annual expenditure of almost three quarters of a trillion pounds, the public sector is a key driver of the wider UK economy. Simplifying payment processes with e-procurement and e-invoicing will not only free up vital funds for public services, it will also improve financial transparency in government bodies at a time when taxpayers are demanding more accountability,” continues Clifford.

As part of its public sector strategy, Basware recently joined the UK government’s G-Cloud Digital Marketplace. Its presence on G-Cloud 6 – the latest iteration of the framework – will make it substantially easier for public sector bodies to procure Basware solutions and deliver dramatic back office savings through payment automation. Procserve is also a part of the G-Cloud Digital Marketplace, and the combined product portfolios of both organizations now represent the most comprehensive set of cloud-based payment and procurement solutions available to UK government bodies.