ClearCourse acquires Club Systems International – Sports Management Software

Sep 02, 2022

London | 2 September 2022 – ClearCourse (“the Group”), a leading group of innovative technology brands providing software solutions and an integrated payments platform, today announces the acquisition of Club Systems International (“the Company”), a major sports club management software provider.

Established in 1982 and based in Manchester, Club Systems International provides leading sports management software to more than 1,750 sports clubs across 17 countries. Its vast customer base is comprised predominantly of golf clubs, but also includes rugby, cricket, and leisure clubs, for which it designs systems to streamline memberships, manage club competitions and process payments.

By joining ClearCourse, Club Systems International will receive increased investment to develop its product offering and reach thousands more customers worldwide. Furthermore, the business will benefit from integration with ClearCourse’s full spectrum of software businesses and ClearAccept, a payments solution designed by ClearCourse that gives specialist brands full control over their payments process while easing the challenges of security and compliance. This deal represents ClearCourse’s growth in the sports, payments and leisure sectors.

As part of this deal, ClearCourse has also acquired HowDidIDo Media, the leading advertisement and publishing entity connected to Club Systems International and owned by the same shareholders. The business operates HowDidIDo.com, Europe’s largest golfing network, which caters for over half a million golfers who have recorded 7 million rounds of golf on the platform, as well as a number of golf media outlets including Greenkeeping and The Golf Business. Club Systems’ Managing Director, Richard Peabody, and its Chairman, Glyn Roberts, will continue to lead the company.

ClearCourse was founded to support the growth of UK businesses that provide software and payment processing services to a variety of membership organisations including non-profits, trade associations, trade unions, sporting bodies and charities. It acquires innovative businesses with strong management teams and complementary offerings, facilitating operational and commercial synergies. The Group has undergone remarkable growth since its foundation, expanding from a standing start to now having over 800 employees and serving upwards of 20,000 customers with more than 30 solutions.

Gerry Gualtieri, CEO of ClearCourse, commented: “Sports and leisure is an exciting sector which continues to be invigorated by great software designed with clubs, organisers and members in mind. Club Systems has seized this opportunity by creating clever, purpose-built sports club solutions, amassing a vast and diverse customer base as a result. We are delighted to welcome Glyn, Richard and the wider team to ClearCourse.”

Richard Peabody, Managing Director of Club Systems International, said: “This is a very exciting time for sports clubs as life begins to look more like the normal we experienced before the pandemic and clubs are able to operate at full capacity once again. Joining ClearCourse and having access to its pool of talent, knowledge and software expertise will help us to ensure that Club Systems can remain at the forefront of the sports club management sector.”

The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.

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Software and Payments Specialist ClearCourse Acquires Award Winning Club Scheduling SaaS Business, ThinkSmart Software

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

Software and Payments Specialist ClearCourse appoints Nathan Best as 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.