1 Feb 2022

Online accounting service Hnry looks to expand in New Zealand, Australia

9:45 am on 1 February 2022

A local online accounting service has secured $16 million in a United States-led investment round, with the company eyeing up further expansion in Australia and New Zealand.

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Photo: nito500/123RF

Hnry, an online pay-as-you-go accountancy service for self-employed people, said it experienced "unprecedented growth" since mid-2020.

The investment was led by New York-based global growth equity firm, Left Lane Capital.

It said revenues were up 500 percent and the new capital would see its team double across both Australia and New Zealand.

Hnry chief executive and founder James Fuller said the raise provided the company with a platform to help more people earn income independently, without excessive hassle or cost.

"At the moment the majority of the growth is coming from professional contractors, from tradies, from creative freelancers, but it's actually a really wide range of different industries that we support right now.

"We have some smaller industries that we support particularly in fishing and agriculture and even through to things like real estate."

Fuller said it was a reflection on how the nature of work was changing, with people wanting more flexibility and opportunity of earning independently.

He said the company's current focus was on Australia and New Zealand, but it was keeping an eye on future territories.

Fuller said Left Lane Capital was attracted to Hnry's rapid growth rate, among other things.

"Hnry already serves tens of thousands of customers in New Zealand and 40 percent of our new clients come via referrals from existing customers who already love the service," he said.

Left Lane Capital managing partner Vinny Pujji said Hnry was an "excellent investment".

"I'm excited to see Hnry evolve from an accounting platform to an everything platform that supports solo business owners through payments, insurance, taxes and more," he said.

Left Lane Capital said Hnry was its first ever investment in the Australasian market.