QikServe is a digital commerce platform, content management system, kiosk and mobile order and pay provider for the hospitality sector. Its comprehensive SaaS e-commerce platform last year processed over 50 million digital transactions for its hospitality partners across mobile, web and physical onsite kiosks, providing customers with a secure and frictionless way to order and pay in hospitality premises.

The Maven VCTs first backed QikServe in 2016 to enable the business to rapidly roll-out its innovative offering to a hospitality industry which had begun to embrace technological solutions. The continued shift in consumer behaviour towards digital ordering and transactions, which has accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic, has helped the business grow revenues by 65% CAGR over the last 3 years. QikServe’s technology is now deployed in over 8,000 bars, hotels, restaurants, sports stadiums and coffee shops across 44 countries around the world.

Maven provided QikServe with additional follow-on funding during its term, taking the VCTs’ total investment to £3.5 million and helping the business progressively scale. QikServe also completed the acquisition of Preoday in 2019, a complimentary provider of order-ahead technology, that brought strategic synergies and further accelerated growth. Headcount overall has grown fivefold since 2016.   

The sale to The Access Group enables QikServe to partner with a large organisation with considerable worldwide reach and enable the business to leverage The Access Group’s software and technical expertise to continue its growth as part of an integrated hospitality suite of solutions.

David Milroy, Partner at Maven, said: “We’re thrilled with what we have been able to achieve alongside the management team at QikServe over the past eight years; entering new markets and further strengthening their proposition.

“In Access we have found a buyer that shares QikServe’s vision for the hospitality tech market and can support the business as it continues to scale globally.

“I would like to personally, and on behalf of Maven, thank the entire QikServe team and particularly CEO Tony Murphy, Founder and President Dan Rodgers, and Chairman Steve Tilly for their commitment and leadership, it has been a privilege working with them.”

Tony Murphy, CEO of QikServe said: “As CEO of QikServe, I’ve been working with the Maven team since 2019.

“Their investment in the business has been instrumental in driving our growth. But more than that, their ongoing commitment has ensured that the executive directors set the right strategy, drove consistent results, and dealt with the many challenges faced. I want to personally thank Maven, who have been strong and value-added partners throughout my tenure.”