Employment Hero's UK revenue grows 84% as global ARR tops £200m

Employment Hero has passed £200 million in global annual recurring revenue, with UK annual recurring revenue rising 84% over the past 12 months.

The UK is now the company's second-largest market globally and its largest outside Australia.

The figures mark further expansion in Britain for the employment software group, which was founded in Australia in 2014 by Ben Thompson and Dave Tong. Over the year, Employment Hero added more than £50 million in annual recurring revenue globally and is now free cash flow positive.

In the UK, its customer base has grown 22% since the start of 2025. More than 30,000 customers in the country use its system to manage HR, payroll and hiring, including Leukaemia UK, 1Rebel, Townhouse Salons and Tropic Skincare.

Its UK workforce has also expanded, with headcount up 58% since January 2025, reflecting continued investment in the market.

Regional focus

Employment Hero is focusing its next phase of UK growth on regional markets, with Yorkshire and the South West identified as priorities. The approach is intended to reach scaling businesses beyond London, particularly in areas where small and medium-sized businesses play a significant role in local employment.

That strategy includes a recently announced partnership with Leeds United, which it says brings the business closer to the city's business community.

The expansion comes as UK employers face closer scrutiny of pay, hiring and workplace practices, alongside changes to employment law. Businesses are also dealing with rising administrative demands linked to payroll, compliance and staff management.

Kevin Fitzgerald, UK Managing Director at Employment Hero, said: "Running a SME business in Britain isn't getting any easier. Employment costs have risen and with the introduction of the Employment Rights Act, keeping up with employment legislation has become a job in itself, even for employers with established HR teams, particularly as headcount grows. Despite these pressures, Britain's businesses remain hugely ambitious and we see enormous opportunities across the nation, especially with the advent of AI. Our investment is about getting closer to the businesses powering local economies so we can understand the challenges they face and give them the tools to scale."

Product build-out

Employment Hero's platform covers the full employment lifecycle, combining HR, payroll and recruitment in a single system. Globally, it processes £80 billion in salaries each year through its payroll infrastructure.

Recent product developments include a Recruitment Agent that uses verified employment records and data from a network of 2.3 million candidates. The company will also launch a compliance agent designed to help small businesses manage UK employment legislation, alongside payroll updates including faster payments and fewer manual processes.

Ben Thompson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Employment Hero, said: "Surpassing £200 million in annual recurring revenue is a significant milestone, and it reflects the growing demand for AI-powered technology that simplifies employment for businesses and their people. The UK is a major priority for me, and the results we're seeing show how important we are to growing British businesses. We've spent the past decade building a platform that goes far beyond traditional HR and payroll software. We want as many people in jobs as possible and we know that a key driver for that is making employment easy for British businesses - we'll continue to do everything we can to support that."

Employment Hero now serves more than 350,000 businesses and 2.5 million employees worldwide.

Rachel Geller, Managing Director at Insight Partners, said: "Ben and Dave have a compelling vision for the global future of employment and labour management, and they've executed on it exceptionally well to date. Employment Hero runs a highly effective business and has turned that focus to driving stand-out innovation within its product. Employment Hero's commitment to driving real AI outcomes for customers is what sets them apart."