Investment holding company Huge Group plans to make a “significant” investment in Interfile Group, a specialist software company focused on e-government and electronic bill presentment and payment, the total value of which has not been disclosed.

The company, founded by Sheldon Quarmby, was responsible for helping the South African Revenue Service build its eFiling platform in 2003. Its clients include several national government departments and municipalities, including the City of Tshwane, as well as private-sector companies. The company has also won a contract with the City of Santa Cruz in the US, where it has a subsidiary operation.

Huge Group CEO James Herbst said in a statement to investors that Interfile Group has “exciting growth opportunities”.

“While Interfile is well established in South Africa, there is a huge global growth potential for the ‘productisation’ and use of Interfile’s systems as demonstrated by the Santa Cruz deployment,” Herbst said.

“Approximately 80% of Interfile Group’s revenue is annuity based, derived from operational and hosting services, transactional services (bill presentment, SMS, e-mail and payment), and call centre, consulting and maintenance services,” he said.

Interfile is cash positive and has no debt, Huge Group said.

At the same time as concluding the Huge Group deal, Interfile is also welcoming a new empowerment partner, a company called YW Capital, a Johannesburg-based, black-owned and black-managed financial services firm focused on the provision of “bespoke international equity advisory services”.

Huge Group chief operating officer Andy Openshaw said Huge’s investment in Interfile follows a series of acquisitions, all of which offer “synergies” with other group companies.

Read: Huge Group to acquire what was Virgin Mobile in South Africa

In the year to March 2022, Interfile Group – which includes subsidiary companies Internet Filing and Ionize Technologies – reported profit after tax of R27.3-million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of R42.8-million. That compares to PAT in the 2021 financial year of R16.8-million and Ebitda of R31.3-million.