Heathrow chair Jansen takes off with US software firm Xplor

Philip Jansen, the former BT Group boss, is taking on the chairmanship of a US-based payments software company which boasts more than 60 million end-users around the world.

Sky News understands that Mr Jansen, who now chairs Heathrow Airport and the London-listed marketing services group WPP, is to take the helm of Xplor Technologies, a private equity-backed company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Sources said that his appointment could be announced as soon as this week.

The recruitment of Mr Jansen comes months after Xplor agreed to merge with Clubessential Holdings, a Cincinnati-based software company offering embedded payments solutions to tens of thousands of clients. The combined entity processes roughly $45bn in payment volumes annually, serving customers such as golf clubs, recreation venues, parks and childcare and education centres.

Its client numbers and revenues are expected to continue growing at a rapid rate amid rising demand for more sophisticated payments-related software. Xplor, which accounted for roughly 80% of the enlarged company's aggregate payment volumes, was majority-owned by Advent International, a private equity firm with which Mr Jansen has enjoyed a long association.

He ran Worldpay, which was backed by Advent and Bain Capital before being taken public on the London Stock Exchange in 2015 in a £4.5bn flotation. Mr Jansen then went on to co-head Worldpay Inc, which was listed in New York with a valuation of about $25bn (£18.3bn) following a merger with Vantiv, a rival.

Subsequently, he spent more than five years as BT chief executive, stepping down from the role in 2024. His arrival at Xplor will come at a time when publicly traded software companies have endured a bruising few weeks, with stocks hammered by investors' fears that their business models face being decimated by developments in artificial intelligence (AI).

Many industry experts believe, however, that such fears are overblown and anticipate a continued rush of mergers and takeovers in the sector. The enlarged Xplor remains controlled by Advent, with Clubessential's former shareholders - Silver Lake Partners and Battery Ventures - remaining invested as minority owners.

Randy Eckels, formerly chief executive of Clubessential, has become boss of the combined company. Advent declined to comment, while Mr Jansen could not be reached for comment..