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ClearCourse acquires hospitality gift voucher management system Giftpro

Dec 09, 2019

London | 09 December 2019 - ClearCourse Partnership LLP (“ClearCourse” or “the Partnership”), a group of innovative technology companies providing software, services and digital capabilities to the membership, events & bookings and sports & lifestyle sectors, today announces its acquisition of Giftpro (“the Company”), a software platform that allows hotels, restaurants, spas and other venues to sell and manage gift vouchers and event tickets.


Giftpro was established in 2014 to help hospitality businesses unlock the power of their brands and increase direct sales by selling their experiences as gifts online. The Company’s creative solution allows businesses to sell fully personalised gift vouchers online through its customisable platform, integrating all requisite inputs for the e-commerce transaction to take place. Giftpro provides an end-to-end service, creating the online store and providing merchandising, promotional tools, payment processing and fulfilment capabilities. Its clients comprise of innovative and ambitious hospitality brands, such as, The Ivy Collection, The Pig, Jason Atherton, Searcys and Harbour Hotels, all of which collaborate closely with Giftpro to deliver a seamless digital experience to their customers. The close relationships that Giftpro has developed with its clients have allowed the Company to evolve into the market leader it is today.


The Giftpro acquisition strongly aligns with ClearCourse’s focus on the facilitation of electronic payments through its innovative software platforms. As part of ClearCourse, Giftpro will have the opportunity to further expand its offering to customers with a broader range of payment types, including recurring payments, instalments and other innovations for purchasing higher-value gift vouchers online. The deal also gives rise to cross-selling opportunities for ClearCourse Group companies with direct consumer offerings, including sports clubs, spas, and health centres, which are increasingly selling gift vouchers to customers and will benefit from Giftpro’s e-commerce solution. Giftpro’s entire team, including management, will continue to run the business and deliver for its impressive suite of hospitality brands. 


Together with ClearCourse, we will be able to continue to make e-commerce less complicated for our clients.


Will Howard – Managing Director of Giftpro


Gerry Gualtieri, CEO of ClearCourse, commented: “Giftpro is a creative and fast-growing business with a strong focus on providing excellent customer service. There is a great opportunity for Giftpro to synergise with our Group companies that have direct consumer offerings, allowing them to provide a more integrated and holistic offering to customers than they are able to do on their own. We look forward to working closely with the Giftpro team as they continue to develop and grow their business.”


Will Howard, Managing Director of Giftpro, said: “Giftpro was established in a bid to re-invent e-commerce for the hospitality industry and to build sustainable products that are human centred and results driven. Since then, we’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the world’s most renowned hospitality brands who share our passion for progress and innovation. Together with ClearCourse, we will be able to continue to make e-commerce less complicated for our clients and create value within the Group through the power of shared technology.”


Richard Hull, Co-founder and Creative Director of Giftpro, commented: “Since launching five years ago, we are proud to have built an outstanding team who are results-orientated and committed to continuing to help our clients grow. As a business we are constantly looking for ways to improve our services, and our relationship with ClearCourse will help our clients achieve better results through implementing new and creative ways for them to generate revenue online.”

a man and a woman are playing tennis on a tennis court at night.
07 Feb, 2024
London, 7 February 2024 – ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and embedded payments for SMEs and targeted enterprises, announces the acquisition of ThinkSmart Software (“ThinkSmart”), an independent software-as-a-service (“SaaS”) provider delivering an innovative technology for businesses that offer clubs and classes in the UK and Australia as well as other global markets. This strategic acquisition will be integrated as part of ClearCourse’s growing Business Services division. Founded in 2008, ThinkSmart is a scheduling and customer management platform for businesses that conduct classes and take bookings. Today, ThinkSmart serves approximately 2,500 customers predominately within the children’s activities sector, offering a user-friendly, intuitive product which helps “class-based” businesses with managing all day-to-day administration. Its award-winning software helps clients across the tennis, swimming, gymnastics, dance, music and sports sectors automate processes so that they can spend more time managing their business and working with their customers. ThinkSmart’s innovative technology streamlines several business admin tasks, including class scheduling, customer management and communications as well as invoicing and payments systems. Christina Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely pleased to announce ThinkSmart as the latest software business to join our group. We look forward to welcoming the ThinkSmart team, led by founder Andy Leigh and UK Managing Director George Bentley, and working with them to enhance their offering across the growing, class-led activities sector. This investment is a further milestone in the growth of ClearCourse which continues to expand in the UK market as well as internationally.” Andrew (Andy) Leigh, Founder and Managing Director of ThinkSmart, commented: “In ClearCourse we have found a likeminded, customer-focused partner that will support a new phase of growth for ThinkSmart. As part of ClearCourse, we will be focused on continuously improving the industry-specific software solutions we offer our customers across the world, as well as looking for opportunities to expand our services.” George Bentley, UK Managing Director said: “ClearCourse has built a unique and compelling group of software companies and payments capabilities, and we are excited to continue growing our business supported by the rich experience and infrastructure now available to us. In particular, working with ClearCourse will enable us to offer our UK growing customer base market-leading, embedded Direct Debit and card payment solutions which will make accepting and managing payments quicker and easier.” Established in London in 2018, ClearCourse is a leading software and embedded payment specialist servicing SMEs and targeted enterprise customers. The group’s vertical software solutions provide essential, market-leading technology to help their customers manage and grow their businesses. Since inception, the company has undergone rapid growth by acquiring 40 leading software and payments solutions in the market verticals in which it operates: Retail & Hospitality, Golf & Leisure, Business Services and Membership Services. Christina Hamilton added: “ClearCourse is a growth company with a clear ambition to help our customers build great businesses with our industry-specific software and embedded payments solutions. We acquire small- and medium-sized businesses and integrate them into the ClearCourse group of companies to benefit their growth and development, while delivering the same for our customers with their own growth aspirations. Our acquisition of ThinkSmart is our first investment in 2024 and marks a successful start to what we expect to be a year of continued growth for ClearCourse.” The terms of the deal are undisclosed.
Nathan Best ClearCourse Chief Operating Officer
04 Jul, 2023
ClearCourse, a leading provider of industry-specific software and payments for UK SMEs, announces the appointment of FinTech veteran Nathan Best as Chief Operating Officer.
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