AWCape acquired by US-based Lescault and Walderman…

Companies share a vision for growing into one of the leading Sage Intacct partners with a multinational client base

Lescault and Walderman (LWI) —  a firm that provides technology-driven accounting and finance services to small to medium businesses (SMBs) in the United States of America (USA) — has acquired a majority stake in AWCape, a South African Sage Platinum Business Partner, as part of its vision to scale its business over the next five years. The company is also acquiring a minority stake in Applico, a Sage Authorised Learning Partner in the AWCape Group.

Lescault and Walderman are acquiring the shares in the two businesses held by their founder, Henri Hattingh. The acquisition results in the merger of LWI and AWCape, who are both Sage Intacct partners in their respective regions. Sage Intacct is a cloud-native solution that provides finance professionals with a powerful cloud financial management platform, offering deep multi-dimensional accounting, automation for efficient financial operations and sophisticated visibility for real-time decision making.

AWCape is one of South Africa’s foremost consulting, implementation and cloud hosting partners for Sage Intacct, Sage 300cloud, Sage Business Cloud Payroll Professional and Sage 300 People. Applico is a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment B-BBEE level 2 Contributor that offers training and implementation solutions for Sage solutions both independently and in partnership with AWCape.

LWI is acquiring the stakes in AWCape and Applico as significant revenue growth opportunities in their own right, as well as to access high-quality Sage Intacct implementation skills to provide into the US market. The company will invest in growing their South African workforce and developing local talent in contribution to both its US and South African business strategy. 

AWCape is a strong player in South Africa’s HR and payroll solutions market, with more than 700 businesses on its client list. The company will continue to grow and invest in this set of solutions, with a vision to establish a larger base of South African clients beyond the Western Cape.

Matthew Lescault, Group Chairman & CEO at LWI, AWCape and Applico, says: “This transaction unlocks opportunities for LWI and AWCape to improve business efficiencies and grow in ways that would be impossible without each other. AWCape offers us a remarkable pool of talent that helps us to grow rapidly in the face of a shortage of Sage Intacct implementation skills in the US

“AWCape, meanwhile, gains early exposure to new Sage Intacct features as they’re released in the US and the opportunity to hone its skills on global projects. I’m looking forward to working with the local management team to take the business to new heights of success. Having worked with the AWCape team on Sage Intacct implementations in the US for months before the acquisition, I know that we have a great cultural fit.”

Gerhard Hartman, Vice President, Medium Business, Sage Africa & Middle East, adds: “Sage’s ambition is to be the trusted network for SMBs, creating an integrated experience of digital and human connections. But we cannot achieve this without our extensive network of business partners, who contribute to our goal of enabling customer success and mutual growth.

“Sage Intacct is one of our cornerstone solutions as our customers accelerate their move to the cloud, and partners like LWI and AWCape bring its full power to life. We congratulate the teams at both companies on this transaction and look forward to many more years of successful partnerships.”

Hattingh will remain with AWCape and Applico as a Director to ensure a seamless transition. This forms part of a careful succession plan that saw Hattingh appoint Jeff Ryan as MD of AWCape in 2021. Hattingh plans to focus his energies on growing AWPower, a company that focuses on renewable energy solutions for the residential and commercial markets.

Hattingh says: “We have cultivated a great team at AWCape to prepare it for the next step in its journey. Now that I’m ready to simplify my life, I’m confident that our customers are in the best possible hands. With a strong South African leadership and a new shareholder with a compelling strategic vision, AWCape has a bright future ahead of it.”