Established in 1975, Cunninghams EPOS Group is a leading, UK-based supplier of EPOS systems and solutions to a variety of sectors including; retail, hospitality, and wholesale.
The company, then named Cunningham Cash Registers (CCR), was acquired by Vesta Software Group back in October 2014, and later merged with two further acquisitions, Fashion Master and Invicta Business Machines.
In the 10 years since its acquisition, Cunninghams has gone from strength to strength, experiencing significant growth and milestones during this time. Reflecting on the past decade, Adam Jones, Operations Manager at Cunninghams, joins us as we take you through both his and the company’s journey as part of the Vesta family so far, including first impressions through to present day opportunities.
First impressions of Vesta Software Group
Adam first joined Cunninghams in March 2006 as an Installations Engineer. At the time the company was acquired 8 years later, he had recently taken on the role of Project Manager and recalled how it was a very “surreal experience – and a little scary from a personal point of view”, to hear the news. Back at home, his girlfriend was on maternity leave with their 7-month-old baby, and nerves were naturally high over worries of an uncertain future.
“The following day after the acquisition was announced, the Vesta team visited the office and put us all at ease,” Adam remarked. “We were assured that nothing was going to change to begin with, and they spent a great deal of time with us during the first month which helped a lot.”
Life after acquisition
New positioning and added structure
In the first 6 months post-acquisition, little changed for the team. “Vesta spent time getting to know us and the business, remaining on hand to help wherever was needed,” Adam says. “They also introduced us to the wider group and put us in touch with the other businesses.”
At this point, Cunninghams were the UK’s largest distributor of cashless catering products developed by CRB Solutions, who had been acquired by Vesta the previous year. Because the businesses were both operating within the education space, the decision was made to create two new divisions that would utilise the expertise of both teams and facilitate expansion into new avenues. It was at this point that Cunninghams’ offering was repositioned, with the business venturing into the retail and hospitality sectors – a first for Vesta.
One of the most notable transformations post-acquisition centred around structure. Steps were put in place to build a new Senior Management Team (which the business didn’t have previously) and a clear sales and marketing strategy. Functions such as finance, HR and legal were also all brought in to be managed by Vesta’s central team. Adam found that “the changes not only freed up time for us as a business to focus on what we did best, but also meant that effective processes could be introduced to improve and streamline operations.”
Prioritising internal communication
Integration into the Vesta family has helped Cunninghams to foster a sense of transparency and security amongst the team. Results and forecasts are shared during regular Town Hall meetings, while weekly reporting for each individual department helps to instill a clear understanding of progress from individual and team contributions.
Talent development within the Vesta family
Internally, learning and development has flourished at Cunninghams over the last decade. Vesta provides various opportunities for growth, including online programmes and live events around the world, as well as access to a wealth of knowledge, best practices and connections.
For motivated individuals, new roles and opportunities to make lateral or progressive moves within the group are plentiful. “There’s not much stopping you from learning new skills and furthering your career,” Adam says. “There’s a lot of scope for progression if you choose to take it. Everything is fluid if you want it to be.”
Celebrating new milestones together
In recent years, Cunninghams has gone from strength to strength, experiencing significant events along the way. After starting with no intellectual property, the business has since introduced two industry-leading products: Quantum (food retail and hospitality) and FM Retail (retail). Both have also recently launched Android offerings – something that Adam believes wouldn’t have been possible so soon without the backing of the group. “We have the speed, buying power and resource to pursue larger projects and quickly deploy comprehensive systems with the peace of mind that there is a bigger party behind the scenes to prevent any issues,” he says. “Our development team has grown considerably, which means we can push new updates and changes swiftly too.”
Most recently, Vesta has been instrumental in helping launch Payments by Cunninghams EPOS Group – an in-house payments solution. “Previously, we referred clients to third-party acquirers, resulting in unintegrated systems and inflated pricing. We’ve addressed this by partnering with Worldpay to provide a fully integrated service with competitive pricing. Clients can now enjoy the convenience of having both their EPOS and payments seamlessly managed under one roof.”
Building successful partnerships
Cunninghams facilitated Vesta’s first steps into the retail and hospitality verticals, and also paved the way for many other businesses to find their home with us. Because they all operate similarly and share comparable values, there have been numerous opportunities for Cunninghams to work closely with this wider community, where they can draw on each other’s resources and share insights from previous experiences.
2014-present… and the next decade ahead
In the 10 years that Cunninghams and Vesta have spent together so far, a thriving partnership has been forged. The business’s identity and integrity has been preserved, all while entering new markets that have supercharged growth and profitability. Despite joining a global group, their team continue to operate independently and maintain that smaller business approach, just with the added benefit of guidance, expertise and stability to ensure a bright future for all.
We can’t wait to see what the coming decade has in store!
