Bidders are circling financial software group Iress following the company’s strong first-half 2025 results and a surge in interest from potential acquirers, with the success of its UK operations at the heart of the speculation.
The company confirmed recent bid activity just days after announcing the departure of deputy CEO Harry Mitchell.
Despite the leadership change, the UK business remains robust and potentially more attractive as a standalone asset.
“It’s not surprising to see buyout interest in Iress given the way that the UK has transformed itself from an ugly duckling to a swan,” said Ian McKenna, founder of AdviserSoftware.com.
According to McKenna, the UK arm’s turnaround has been driven by giving it operational autonomy.
He said: “The benefit of having given the UK business control of its own destiny are clear to see.
“The mistake was obviously subordinating the UK to Australia for so long, but the management team responsible for that as long gone.
“Having installed Alistair Morgan as the UK CEO and cemented the role of Alex Hore as MD of the wealth business, customers can be comfortable that there is a strong succession plan. Hore particularly deserves a great deal of credit for managing the shutdown of the old 1st Software business and migration to XPlan. A task that many others had tried and failed.”
McKenna added: “Existing customers appear far happier than they were previously. There is still plenty of upside the UK business can achieve.
“The success of the UK independence plan has made Iress an obvious acquisition target. Should such a transaction take place separating the UK business into an individual entity would probably be part of any plan to maximise value.”
