TA Associates is to take over Lyceum’s majority interest in HR and payroll provider Access for an undisclosed sum.

The global growth private equity firm has offices in several locations globally, including Boston and London. This latest investment follows a string of deals taking its total portfolio to more than 440 companies ­– raising around $18 billion of capital.

Colchester based Access Group was formed in 1991. It currently employs 750 people to service its 6,000 corporate customers – many of whom are also based in the UK. In December 2014 it acquired cloud specialists StratoGen.

The deal with TA Associates marks the end of a four-year relationship between Access and Lyceum – following the latter’s £50 million management buyout in 2011. Since then Access’s annual revenue has doubled to £60 million.

>See also: LDC acquires NEC Group

Lyceum co-founder Jeremy Hand “wishes [Access] well in their ongoing journey.”

“Since our investment, Access has significantly strengthened its position as a leading provider of software services to mid-sized businesses in the UK, in an increasing number of sectors and across a broad range of business-critical functions,” he said.

TA Associates director J. Morgan Seigler called Access a “highly attractive investment for TA”.

“The Access team has proven adept at identifying, acquiring and integrating businesses, and we see continued opportunities for inorganic, as well as organic growth at the company. We will employ TA’s longstanding and proven management-friendly approach, working closely with Access to further build value in the business,” he added.

Further reading for M&A: TA Associates acquires eCircle