Legends Employer of Record (Legends EOR), which employs offshore teams in South Africa on behalf of international businesses, has secured £1m funding from global investors including Effer Ventures, a UK-based venture builder investing in financial and professional services businesses.

The company has almost tripled its workforce in the past year and is forecasting to hire staff in South Africa for more than 500 UK companies in the next 12 months.

British employers are absorbing mounting domestic staff costs, including higher employer National Insurance contributions and the costs attached to the ban on zero-hours contracts. Rather than cut headcount, a growing number are building teams abroad.

South Africa is one of the largest markets where outsourced teams are being built. The UK now accounts for 63 percent of the country’s outsourcing export market, in a sector growing at 10.1 percent a year, well ahead of the 6.8 percent global average.[1]

As an Employer of Record, Legends EOR becomes the legal employer of its clients’ South African staff, taking on payroll, tax, benefits and local employment compliance. This allows a UK company to build a team in South Africa without the cost and complexity of setting up a local entity.

The investment will strengthen the leadership team, building on a series of senior hires with further appointments planned, and scale delivery capacity to meet UK demand. The business is targeting a doubling of headcount and revenue over the coming year.

Alex Fenton, Director at Legends Employer of Record, said: “Every conversation with a UK employer right now starts with cost. Employing someone here has got more expensive and nobody expects that to reverse. However, cost is only one factor, employers are also looking for a team that sticks, these are people who stay, learn the business and get better at it.

South Africa has become one of the best markets in the world for that, and Legends EOR has the contracts, payroll and compliance in place to employ people properly rather than rent them. We’re not making a bet on South Africa. We’re funding a business that has already proved the case.”

Charlotte James, Head of Operations at Effer Ventures said: “It is a great pleasure to support Legends Every conversation with a UK employer right now starts with cost. Employing someone here has got more expensive and nobody expects that to reverse. However, cost is only one factor, employers are also looking for a team that sticks, these are people who stay, learn the business and get better at it.

South Africa has become one of the best markets in the world for that, and Legends EOR has the contracts, payroll and compliance in place to employ people properly rather than rent them. We’re not making a bet on South Africa. We’re funding a business that has already proved the case.”