Expanding Debitsuccess acquires UK direct-debit provider
New Zealand eCommerce company Debitsuccess has acquired UK-based direct debit billing provider DFC in an ambitious move that will significantly expand the company’s international operations capability.
Debitsuccess’ CEO, Craig Marshall, believes the acquisition is the culmination of a year of strategically planned growth for the company.
“This acquisition will see our capacity for targeting international business increase exponentially and give us a foothold into a region of the world where we are seeing an increasing demand for our kind of service," Marshall says.
With a 38-year history in the UK, DFC is a prominent direct debit service provider that enjoys an exemplary reputation within its industry.
DFC operates in a similar market space to Debitsuccess, providing billing services to more than 250,000 customers in the leisure sector in the UK, as well as utilities, publishers and telecommunications providers.
The company’s head office and call centre are based in the town of Milton Keynes, near London.
Lynn Young, Managing Director of DFC, is also delighted with the acquisition, and believes that DFC will benefit greatly from the new partnership:
"This new association with Debitsuccess will add further value to our operations - firstly through sales and contact centre strategy and, secondly, through support at a governance and executive level," Young says.
Strong, profitable business
Following the agreement, Marshall believes DFC is a strong, growing, profitable business, citing it as an "extremely good fit both culturally and operationally."
“Moving forward our respective development teams will work together for cross-pollination of technology, strategy and business intelligence to help increase growth and profitability across the entire company," he adds.
Debitsuccess is also in final stage discussions with several companies in Asia and the USA regarding the provision of eCommerce services for the growing number of online businesses in these countries.
“We believe that our unique service model for the management of recurring payments adds value to any business or industry entering the ‘subscription economy’ and successfully translates into many countries or territories,” Marshall adds.
Marshall explains that the last 12 months have been unprecedented in terms of significant forward steps for Debitsuccess, which has seen the company register its highest ever number of new accounts in one calendar year, and relocate its operations centre to a larger, more prominent office location in the Akoranga Business Park on Auckland’s north shore.
“We have secured new business in Australia and New Zealand from several high profile new clients," Marshall says. "Plus, in October, we recorded the highest ever single month of revenue in the 20 year history of the business."
Debitsuccess’ growth and progress is also demonstrated by its steady rise up the annual TIN100 list of New Zealand’s best performing high-tech companies, ranking in the top 40 for the first time in 2013.
“It has been another very positive year for Debitsuccess," Marshall says. "We set some ambitious targets and have strengthened our infrastructure to meet our projected growth, which has included increasing our 80-seat call centre to a 150-seat capacity.
“The challenge for the future will continue to be our clear focus around delivering the highest quality of service to our clients and their customers as the company evolves and expands.”
