Kingsbridge Group, a UK provider of insurance and IR35 status assessment and consulting services to contractors, freelancers and the recruitment industry, entered into an agreement to acquire IR35.io, an online IR35 status assessment tool. 

The acquisition marks Kingsbridge's first acquisition since its sale to NSM Insurance Group in March 2020.

IR35.io claims to be the UK's first end-to-end solution that ‘enables individual contractors, recruitment agencies or end-clients to immediately assess the IR35 status of contract-based roles and whether a contractor should be treated as an employee or not for tax purposes.’ Powered by a proprietary algorithm, IR35.io also enables users to manage and report on the complex multi-party process that a robust and auditable IR35 status assessment requires.

“By working with Kingsbridge, end-clients and recruiters can now instantly determine IR35 status and ensure that legitimate contractors are able to continue to work outside of IR35,” Kingsbridge stated. “Moreover, Kingsbridge's online tool is complemented by a consulting service that provides a manual review of indeterminate cases to help navigate IR35 and advise on accurately assessing roles.”

James Twining, Chief Executive Officer of Kingsbridge Group, said, “We are thrilled to welcome IR35.io into the Kingsbridge Group. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of the UK's army of self-employed contractors and freelance workers and their role in getting the nation back on its feet is now more critical than ever. Our enhanced IR35 offering now provides a unique combination of automated status-assessment and human judgment, backed by a bespoke insurance product, that will enable end-clients and recruitment agencies to navigate the forthcoming changes in the IR35 tax legislation with minimal disruption to their business or the livelihoods of the contractors they work with.”

Geof McKernan, Chief Executive Officer of NSM Insurance Group, said, “We invested in Kingsbridge because we believe in the long-term trends that are driving the growth of the contract and freelance based market. IR35.io is a game-changing acquisition that further demonstrates Kingsbridge's entrepreneurial vision and commitment to the contractor sector and the recruitment industry. We have strong confidence in the Kingsbridge management team and their ability to drive sustainable growth and profit of the business.”

In IR35 news this week, MPs recently voted against further delay to IR35 private sector reform meaning the reforms to the private sector are set to go ahead from April 2021.