Denmark’s Ageras raises EUR30m

Among seven new investors, Centripetal Capital and Saeid Esmaeilzadeh are participating and joining existing investors Investcorp Technology Partners, Lugard Road Capital and Roosgruppen, which all are participating in the round. The capital will help Ageras accelerate the expansion of its small business-focused financial services software and accounting marketplace.

“This is a big milestone for us, but it’s not our destination,” said Ageras Group CEO and Co-founder Rico Andersen. “What started as an online marketplace for small business owners to find accountants in Denmark has now expanded into a financial cockpit used by more than 1 million SMEs across Europe and the US, giving them a single, centralized destination for nearly all their needs—bookkeeping, accounting, payroll services, invoicing and now financial services.”

Buoyed by strong retention rates, high organic growth and several acquisitions, Ageras Group’s founders plan to focus on expanding in Scandinavia, Germany, France and the United States. Since raising $73 million from New York-based investment fund Lugard Road Capital in early 2021, Ageras Group has grown its suite of fintech software tools to include payroll services and freelancer-focused invoice management software through its acquisition and integration of two products—Salary and Zervant—last year.

“There are tens of millions of freelancers and small business owners out there who don’t want to spend their precious time and energy on tedious backroom processes, especially ones which can be automated,” said Ageras Group Co-founder and CMO Martin Hegelund. “That’s where Ageras Group comes in. Our ecosystem is simplifying the lives of small business owners, and our company grows alongside their companies’ growth. As they expand, their use of our products deepens.”

Ageras Group, which employs 250 across Europe and the US, plans to continue aggressively acquiring other fintech software startups with its latest round. In 2017, global private equity firm Investcorp Technology Partners acquired a majority stake in the Copenhagen-based startup. Over the next few years, Ageras grew from a marketplace into a subscription-based accounting and fintech services platform, launching and acquiring a set of accounting software solutions. Most recently, Ageras Group acquired Zervant, a leading global invoicing software platform.

In 2020, Rabo Frontier Ventures, the venture fund of Rabobank, invested in Ageras to support its fintech bet. Shortly after, Ageras Group launched its own embedded fintech solution providing flexible financing to its SME customers. Ageras Group’s credit decisions are based on its proprietary accounting data, which materially de-risks lending and, consequently, offers more competitive rates for its customers.

“We feel blessed to enable SMEs across Europe and the US to manage their business and grow on their own terms,” said CEO Rico Andersen, who expects Ageras Group’s strong organic and M&A-driven growth to continue.

“Our rationale for re-investing in Ageras Group comes down to the proven team, strong products and their successful traction in a $400-billion-plus market,” said Doug Friedman, Partner at Lugard Road Capital. “They are poised to become one of Europe’s next unicorns.”