HWC

What HWC does

HWC (legally Handle With Care Ltd) is a UK-based, privately held SaaS company founded in 1994 and headquartered in Exeter. The firm builds two enterprise software products: Rewardflow, a total rewards and compensation management platform covering base pay, bonus, equity, incentive compensation, and total rewards statements; and MARflow, a Market Abuse Regulation compliance platform covering insider list management, PDMR handling, online clearance workflows, and FCA-aligned regulatory reporting. Both products are delivered as web applications hosted in London, EU, or US data centres, with options for on-premises or client-cloud deployment, and both support SSO, MFA, and OWASP-aligned security controls. Architecture emphasises configurability and auditability, with matrix-driven user access management, full data audit trails, and dedicated client database separation.

HWC's commercial model is subscription-based, typically annual or multi-year, with pricing scaled to customisation level (Standard vs Bespoke/Dedicated tier) and ongoing support scope. Bespoke engagements involve a discovery phase and phased implementation; standard MARflow deployments can go live in days. Go-to-market is sales-led and direct, combining enterprise field sales targeting FTSE 100, Top Track 250, and private organisations with an inside-sales motion for the standard tier via the website demo request channel. Named customers include Barclays, Vodafone, WPP, Vantage Towers, Tullow, Wunderman Thompson, and IDS. The firm employs 11-50 people, is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding or parent company, and is led by Managing Director John Thrower alongside long-tenured product, client services, and testing leads. Top-of-funnel demand is supported through the HWC Knowledge Hub and SEO-driven organic content.

Name

HWC

Legal name

Handle With Care Ltd

Website

https://hwcltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HWC is a UK-based SaaS company, founded in 1994, providing Rewardflow (total rewards and compensation management) and MARflow (Market Abuse Regulation compliance) software to FTSE 100, Top Track 250, and private enterprises on a subscription basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Compensation & Compliance Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Software/SaaS Subscriptions (Consumer & Prosumer) (CRAFAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Compliance, Risk & Supplier Due Diligence (KYC/ESG/Sanctions) (BPAAAJAK)

Keywords

• Compensation management software
• Total rewards software
• MAR compliance software
• Insider list management
• Salary bonus planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Exeter

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing & Subscription (Rewardflow): Annual or multi-year subscription for Rewardflow total rewards software. Pricing scales based on the level of customisation (dedicated vs. standard tier) and the amount of support required from the HWC team. Tiered structure based on breadth of functionality and customisation required.
2. Software Licensing & Subscription (MARflow): Annual or multi-year subscription for MARflow compliance software. Pricing based on the level of bespoke development required (admin-only vs. bespoke tiers) and ongoing support needs. No hidden costs for expanding user base, lists, or feature set within agreed scope.
3. Professional Services - Implementation & Onboarding: Discovery phase, configuration, and implementation services for bespoke/dedicated tier deployments. Standard system can be live within days; bespoke implementations require discovery phase with agreed requirements and timeline.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HWC sells two enterprise SaaS products: Rewardflow, a total rewards platform covering compensation, salary and bonus planning, stock option management, incentive compensation, and total rewards statements; and MARflow, a Market Abuse Regulation compliance platform managing PDMRs, permanent and project insiders, online clearance requests, acknowledgement capture, and FCA-aligned MAR reporting. Both are delivered as hosted web applications (London, EU, US) or on-premises/within the client's own cloud, with an annual subscription plus professional services model and dedicated account management on bespoke tiers.

Product overview

HWC offers two core software products: Rewardflow and MARflow. Rewardflow is a total rewards software platform that enables organisations to strengthen their compensation processes by centralising information for base pay, bonus management, equity, and employee rewards. MARflow is a Market Abuse Regulation compliance solution that provides insider list management, PDMR handling, online clearance workflows, and regulatory reporting. Both products are available as either standard off-the-shelf solutions or bespoke/dedicated offerings tailored to client specifications. The products are designed for FTSE 100, Top Track 250, and private organisations requiring compensation management and MAR compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rewardflow: Total rewards software for compensation management, salary and bonus consolidation, stock option management, and total rewards statements.
• MARflow

Products and services

• Rewardflow Total rewards software that centralises and consolidates compensation processes for organisations, enabling them to plan, model, and implement comprehensive reward programmes covering base pay, bonus, equity, incentive compensation, and employee total rewards statements. Designed for FTSE 100, Top Track 250, and large private organisations, with configurable workflows that mirror each client's remuneration calendar.
• MARflow Market Abuse Regulation compliance software that provides tools to manage PDMRs, permanent and project insiders, online clearance requests, acknowledgement capture, and MAR reporting set to FCA requirements. Built for listed companies and other regulated organisations that need to demonstrate MAR compliance, with prebuilt report templates, audit trails, and configurable workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminate double keying and data duplication errors associated with spreadsheet-based compensation management
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature9 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Beqom: Beqom is a vendor of total rewards and compensation management software, covering base pay, bonus, equity, and total rewards statements — directly comparable to HWC's Rewardflow product. Both target large enterprises with complex, multi-country compensation processes and emphasize configurability to client-specific remuneration calendars.
• StarCompliance: StarCompliance provides trade surveillance, insider list management, and employee compliance workflows for regulated firms — directly comparable to HWC's MARflow product. Both serve listed companies with insider-list management, code of conduct administration, and pre-built regulatory reporting aligned to MAR-style frameworks.
• MyComplianceOffice: MyComplianceOffice provides trade surveillance, personal account dealing, and code-of-conduct compliance software to financial services firms — directly comparable to HWC's MARflow regulatory compliance and online clearance workflows.
• Certent (now part of DFIN): Certent provides equity compensation and stock plan management software to enterprise and listed-company clients, closely overlapping with Rewardflow's stock option management and long-term incentive plan modules. Both vendors serve similar listed-company clients with equity-related compensation workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Workday: Workday is a broad HR and finance cloud platform that includes a compensation management module competing with Rewardflow. While Workday covers many HR functions beyond compensation, it is increasingly a substitute for specialist compensation vendors at large enterprises — making it the most strategically relevant broad-suite incumbent to HWC.
• ADP: ADP is a large workforce management and payroll/HR vendor with compensation management capabilities relevant to Rewardflow. Its enterprise customers and global payroll footprint make it an incumbent alternative for FTSE 100/Top Track 250 firms considering consolidating HR technology.
• UKG: UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group) provides workforce management, HR, and pay/compensation functionality at large enterprises. Comparable to HWC's Rewardflow on the compensation-management axis and competes in the same enterprise/regulated-environment buyer cohort.
• PayScale: PayScale provides compensation data, benchmarking, and pay management software to mid-market and enterprise HR teams. Comparable to Rewardflow on the compensation-management axis, particularly for organizations that prioritize data-driven pay decisions and salary benchmarking.

Emerging players

• SteelEye: SteelEye offers compliance and surveillance technology for financial services covering communications, trade, and regulatory reporting. Adjacent to MARflow's regulatory compliance module, with overlapping listed-company buyer personas but a broader communications-surveillance angle.
• Lattice: Lattice provides people-management software with performance reviews, comp cycles, and compensation planning features. Comparable to Rewardflow on the compensation-cycling axis, though Lattice is positioned more toward performance/reviews than complex equity/total-rewards statements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hwcltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HWC