What giant pay does

Giant Pay (legally Giant Group Limited) is a UK-based, privately held provider of payroll and compliance services for the contingent workforce and recruitment sector, operating since the early 1990s. The company serves four primary segments: recruitment agencies, corporate hirers of contractors, vendor-neutral MSPs, and individual contractors. Its core offering is an end-to-end platform that combines proprietary payroll and back-office software (Giant Software, Giant Payroll, Giant Finance+ and Giant Go) with managed services covering pre-employment screening, timesheet processing, invoice creation, bill & pay, recruitment finance (up to 100% invoice funding), and employment solutions including umbrella, PEO, global payroll, IR35 fee payer, and CIS (Construction Industry Scheme). Approximately £1bn+ of invoices are processed annually across 2,000+ customers and 100,000+ contractors using the platform each week, with operations spanning 100+ countries for screening and global employment.

Giant monetizes through a mix of recurring streams: software licensing and subscriptions for embedded deployments, managed payroll service fees, transaction-based screening and invoice finance, and employer margins on umbrella/PEO/CIS contractor employment. Go-to-market is sales-led, with direct enterprise engagement via the website, phone, and bespoke quoting (no public pricing). Distribution combines enterprise field sales for large agencies and hirers, self-serve portals for individual contractors (giantumbrella.com) and agencies (giantagencies.com), and embedded software for mid-market clients. The company consolidates fragmented payroll, compliance, funding, and screening vendor relationships into a single integrated proposition, leveraging 30+ years of UK regulatory expertise (IR35, right-to-work, umbrella rules) as its primary competitive axis. The business is currently led by newly appointed CEO Sharon Clampin, heading the Giant Finance+ division.

Name

giant pay

Legal name

Giant Group Limited

Website

https://giantpay.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Giant Pay is a UK-based, privately held provider of payroll, compliance, and recruitment finance services, serving recruitment agencies, corporate hirers, MSPs, and contractors with proprietary software and managed services including umbrella, PEO, screening, and global payroll.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payroll & Workforce Compliance Services

NAICS

Payroll Services (541214), Professional Employer Organizations (561330), Professional Employer Organizations (56133)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Contractor Payroll, Invoicing & Payment Services (BPACAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Payroll & Multi-Country Payroll Management (BPACAHAC), Payroll Outsourcing & Pay Administration (Multi-country/Managed Payroll) (BPACAKAD), International Payroll & Contractor Payments (FSAMAIAC), Contractor / Freelancer Payments (FSAMAKAC)

Keywords

• Contractor payroll services
• Pre-employment screening
• Umbrella employment solutions
• Recruitment invoice finance
• IR35 compliance services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Licensing & Subscriptions: Proprietary payroll software offered as an embedded solution for agencies to use internally, generating recurring subscription or license fees.
2. Managed Payroll Services: Fully managed end-to-end payroll processing service from onboarding to offboarding, where Giant handles the entire process on behalf of clients.
3. Pre-employment Screening Services: Managed background checking service with background checks completed in as little as 24 hours. Revenue generated per check or as a bundled service.
4. Recruitment Finance / Invoice Finance: Provides up to 100% funding against invoices with flexible and fast invoice finance facility, generating revenue through interest or fees on funded invoices.
5. Umbrella, PEO & Contractor Employment Solutions: PAYE solutions including umbrella employment, PEO, CIS, and IR35 feepayer services for contractors, generating revenue through employer margins and service fees.
6. Global Payroll & Employment: Compliant employment solutions for global workforces including efficient solutions for limited company holders, generating revenue through service fees per contractor or per pay period.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Giant Pay provides compliant payroll, screening, and contractor employment solutions to the UK recruitment ecosystem. Its core offering combines proprietary payroll software for timesheet processing, invoice creation, and bill & pay (available as embedded software or fully managed service) with pre-employment screening, recruitment invoice finance (up to 100% funding), and contractor employment solutions including umbrella, PEO, global payroll, IR35 fee payer, and CIS services.

Product overview

Giant Pay operates as a modular platform with core products, employment solutions, and financial services. The flagship Giant Software platform provides proprietary timesheet processing, invoice creation, and bill & pay capabilities that can be embedded internally or fully managed. Giant Payroll serves as the core payroll engine. The employment solutions suite includes Giant Umbrella (PAYE umbrella employment), PEO, Global Payroll, IR35 Fee Payer, and CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) services for contractors. The Screening module offers pre-employment checks including criminal records, right to work verification, global checks, social media checks, and onboarding compliance. Giant Finance+ provides recruitment finance (up to 100% invoice funding), back office platform, and Giant Go financial solutions. ATS Integrations connects with applicant tracking systems. The portfolio serves recruitment agencies, hirers, MSPs, and contractors with end-to-end compliance-focused solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Giant Payroll Proprietary payroll software for timesheet processing, invoice creation, and bill & pay operations. Available as embeddable internal software for recruitment agencies or as a fully managed service handled by Giant from onboarding to offboarding.
• Giant Software End-to-end recruitment software platform enabling timesheet processing, invoice creation, and payroll management. Can be embedded internally by agencies or fully managed by Giant.
• Pre-Employment Screening Managed pre-employment screening and background checking service covering criminal records, right to work verification, global checks, social media checks, and onboarding compliance. Background checks can be completed in as little as 24 hours.
• Giant Umbrella Compliant umbrella employment solution for contractors, providing PAYE payroll services under new UK umbrella rules.
• PEO (Professional Employer Organization) Professional Employer Organization service providing compliant employment solutions for contractors.
• Global Payroll Global employment and payroll solutions for contractors in the UK or internationally, supporting limited company holders with compliant international employment arrangements.
• IR35 Fee Payer IR35 fee payer service for contractors operating through personal service companies, ensuring compliance with off-payroll working rules.
• CIS (Construction Industry Scheme) Construction Industry Scheme compliance solution for contractors operating in the construction sector.
• Giant Finance+ Comprehensive financial services platform for recruitment agencies, bundling recruitment finance, back office services, and the Giant Go solution.
• Recruitment Finance (Invoice Finance) Invoice finance facility providing up to 100% funding against invoices, offering flexible and fast access to working capital for recruitment agencies facing cash flow challenges.
• Giant Go Financial solution within the Giant Finance+ platform designed for agency financial management and workforce/contractor operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Background checks completed in as little as 24 hours, reducing time-to-hire and eliminating delayed start dates.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights15 records

Direct peers

• SJD Accountancy: UK accountancy and payroll firm focused on contractors, recruitment agencies, and umbrella services; competes head-to-head with Giant for the same agency and contractor customer base.
• Brookson Group: UK-based accountant and payroll specialist serving limited company contractors with IR35, CIS, and umbrella-style services — directly comparable to Giant's contractor compliance portfolio.
• Parasol Group: UK umbrella employment and contractor payroll provider owned by a global payroll group; directly competes with Giant Pay on umbrella, IR35, and contractor payroll services for recruitment agencies and contractors.
• PayStream / Smart Pension Pay: UK provider of umbrella, PAYE, and CIS payroll solutions for contractors; close functional and customer overlap with Giant Pay's umbrella and CIS products.

Emerging players

• Remote: Global EOR and international payroll provider; competes with Giant on multi-country contractor employment, especially where agencies and hirers want a single global platform.
• Deel: High-growth global EOR/payroll platform increasingly serving UK recruitment agencies and contractor workforces; an emerging competitive threat to Giant's global payroll and PEO offering.

Regional players

• SD Worx: Pan-European HR and payroll provider with strong UK and EU presence; competes with Giant for multi-country contractor payroll and PEO work, primarily from a European regional position.

Broad incumbents

• Ciphr: UK HR, payroll, and workforce management software and services provider serving mid-market and enterprise employers; overlapping buyer base with Giant's hirer and agency segments.
• ADP (UK): Global payroll and HR services giant with established UK presence serving enterprise recruitment agencies and hirers; competes on scale, brand, and global payroll capability against Giant.
• IRIS Software Group: Large UK-established provider of payroll, HR, and accountancy software serving recruitment agencies and accountancy practices — broader payroll software portfolio but overlapping buyer base with Giant.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCGtuTv-2UJ087-87614WxDA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/giant-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/giantgroup_
• Xx.com/giantpay1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 giant pay