Fourth Acquires Leading HR Services Provider Choice HR

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fourth, provider of a leading hospitality operations platform, today announced the acquisition of Choice HR, a full-service Payroll, Benefits and HR Services business that meets the complex needs of the hospitality sector. Choice HR's comprehensive suite of solutions are currently used by 400+ organizations, including PDQ, Metro Diner, Beef o' Brady's, Ford's Garage and World of Beer.

In an ever-changing regulatory and legislative environment, it can be challenging for restaurant operators to juggle payroll, employee benefits and taxes while achieving compliance and ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time. Choice HR supplements Fourth's robust workforce management capabilities, creating a merged system that provides restauranteurs with the only end-to-end service of its kind. Together, Fourth and Choice HR streamline processes to reduce costs, labor turnover and the risk of non-compliance.

"This is not just one tech company acquiring another," commented Ben Hood, CEO, Fourth. "This is about positively disrupting the way the U.S. currently manages its hospitality workforce. We have joined forces with Choice HR to eliminate the need for multiple systems, allowing for more effective staff management against a backdrop of onerous labor legislation. This combined tech will enable restaurant groups to thrive, rather than drown in legal complexities and admin. Together we will significantly reduce the risk of non-compliance and make it much easier to pay part-time and full-time shift-based employees correctly and on time."

With the acquisition of Choice HR, Fourth will now allow for on-demand access to human resources professionals that are familiar with the nuances of the complex hospitality industry, giving managers the freedom to focus on the customer, rather than on tedious HR matters.

"Freeing managers from time-consuming administrative work is an important step toward perfecting the customer experience. We're excited to welcome Choice HR and its talented people to the Fourth family, and look forward to serving the hospitality sector with indisputably the most complete workforce management solution in the United States," added Hood.

Effective immediately, ChoiceHR will add over 400 new customers to Fourth's roster, as well as bring the number of US-based Fourth employees to 80, with most serving as customer support and solutions experts. Fourth's spacious new Tampa HQ?an expanded location to better support Fourth's growing U.S. footprint?will be located at 9007 Brittany Way, Tampa Florida 3619.

"We are very pleased to be joining Fourth and have long-admired their leadership in the hospitality sector," commented Chris Cona, president, Choice HR. "Bringing Choice HR and Fourth literally and figuratively together under one roof will allow our collective clients to benefit from some of the most innovative leaders in our industry today."

"Joining forces with Fourth is an important step in Choice HR's history, making our payroll, HR Services and benefits solutions available to a broader customer base." added Gene Cabrera, chief operating officer, Choice HR.

District Capital Partners and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher served as capital advisors for this acquisition.

For additional industry insight from Fourth, please visit the Fourth blog: https://www.fourth.com/en-us/blog.

About Fourth
Established in 1999 by restaurant and hospitality entrepreneurs Derek and Edwina Lilley, Fourth was conceived "by hospitality professionals for hospitality professionals." Fourth offers a complete hospitality operations platform for purchase-to-pay & inventory and workforce management, underpinned by smart analytics and collaboration tools, enabling customers to optimize profits, enhance guest satisfaction and scale profitably. Its 1,100 customers in 60 countries include many of the world's most famous hospitality brands. To learn more, please visit www.fourth.com/en-us.

SOURCE Fourth