Meath-based HR software company HR Duo is poised for rapid growth after raising €4.5 million in funding

An Irish company providing cloud-based automated staffing services to hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses has raised €4.5 million in funding to aim for significant growth in the UK.

The fundraising – led by London-based Puma Capital – values ​​the HR duo from Co Meath at more than €10 million. Puma injected EUR 3.75 million in fresh funds.

The company, founded by former AIB HR director Jerome Forde, is backed by a number of well-known investors.

“We felt it was important to receive a significant investment and fortunately Puma was able to see the value of what we were offering,” said Mr Forde. “They gave us a commitment in the middle of last year and it took us until December to get it. Unfortunately, in the current investment environment, this type of schedule is no longer uncommon.”

Among the seed investors who have collectively raised an additional €750,000 is Joe Hogan, co-founder of Dublin-based telecoms software company Openet, which was sold to Amdocs in 2020 for a net cash payment of US$180 million (€167 million). . Niall Norton, CEO of Openet, is also an investor in HR Duo.

Other supporters include Enterprise Ireland, Elkstone’s Alan Merriman and PJ Timmins. Mr. Timmins is a former Chief Executive of Clerys and is now Chairman of the HR Duo. Caroline Jenkinson, the former Deputy Labor Court Deputy, is also a non-executive director and shareholder of the company.

HR Duo has between 250 and 300 clients in Ireland and 20 in the UK where it has just started establishing a presence. In total, its customers in Ireland employ around 9,000 people.

While it’s not yet profitable, its revenue has grown more than 50 percent year over year over the past few years.

According to Mr. Forde, the company will be profitable by the middle of next year.

The company says its product handles about 80 percent of HR functions, freeing managers and executives to focus on other aspects of the business.

The remaining 20 percent of HR functions are typically those that require face-to-face interaction and informed decisions.

A Limerick native, Mr Forde, who was Head of Human Resources for the Diocese of Dublin immediately prior to founding HR Duo, said he and his team have spent years developing the company’s cloud-based solution.

It is aimed at companies with 50 to 1,000 employees, where there is either no real formal HR manager or only a very small team.

Mr. Forde insists that the market entry barriers HR Duo is targeting are high due to the financial requirements, which solidifies the long-term opportunities for the company, not only in Ireland and the UK, but also in markets like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and even the United States.

“America is a place we would aspire to, and we aspire to it sooner rather than later,” says Mr. Forde.

“We’ve always built this as a system that can travel worldwide.”