Getting deals done: Accelerating One Beyond’s new phase of growth

One Beyond, formerly known as DCSL GuideSmiths, is a digital transformation software business whose growth journey over the last few years has seen it move beyond recognition – so ‘One Beyond’ is a fitting new name to mirror their ambitions and those of their customers.  

We last caught up with Nick Thompson, their CEO, in 2019, and since then they’ve embarked on an ambitious scaleup journey with the aim of becoming the UK’s foremost software engineering and digital transformation company.

Securing private equity backing in 2020 from Queen’s Park Equity was the first step in their rapid expansion programme, with the intention of acquiring other businesses to accelerate their growth. And now they’re currently in the process of completing their second acquisition and have transformed from a UK centric and office-based company to one that largely operates remotely and with staff working across the UK and Europe seeing them go from 100 employees in 2019 to over 350 now.

This type of growth isn’t just down to acquisitions. It’s also a result of organic growth through winning clients. To facilitate this, One Beyond has invested heavily in business development and account management functions.

The speed at which technology and infrastructure changes, combined with their clients having more sophisticated needs, has resulted in a much greater focus on their sales contracts. To speed up a deal and get it over the line the sales team requires the backing of commercial solicitors who truly understand their business and industry.

Gone are the days of when we could send over our standard contract and an owner manager would sign it off without their lawyers reviewing it.

Everything is scrutinised, with IP ownership, liabilities, and indemnities as common topics during negotiations. 

This is where Harper James fits in. As an Enterprise client, One Beyond can work with experts in every area of business law – turning up and down the amount of support they receive as and when they need it.

Knowing that we have Harper James to help us through complex situations and difficult negotiations is very reassuring.

Nick commented:

'Gone are the days of when we could send over our standard contract and an owner manager would sign it off without their lawyers reviewing it.'

'Fortunately, we have Sarah Gunton and the rest of the commercial team on hand to help us manage the life cycle of our contracts and any renewals.

'Knowing that we have Harper James to help us through complex situations and difficult negotiations is very reassuring. Sarah knows our business inside out and we can rely on her to provide clear and timely commercial advice.

'And on the odd occasion that we’ve needed help through a dispute, Ian Carson has always stepped in and dealt with the situation before it gets out of hand.

'When we first came across Harper James and I saw the subscription model and level of service on offer, I remember thinking: wow, the expertise is there, and the price is very reasonable. We had been using a local firm up until that point and everything seemed to be becoming more and more expensive.

'We’ve been working with Harper James since 2017 and it’s been an absolute pleasure!'

For our commercial partner Sarah Gunton, enabling One Beyond to do business on robust terms is paramount:

'The calibre of clients One Beyond is working with has visibly changed over the time that I have been working with Nick but this does mean that negotiations can be more complex and prolonged.  Our objective is always to ensure that both parties consider that they’re contracting on fair and comprehensive terms with a proper allocation of risk between them.

'It’s a pleasure to work with Nick and the One Beyond team and we very much enjoy being part of their success.'