VAR Daisy Communications has kicked off its 2008 acquisition strategy by snapping up Cardiff-based telecoms reseller Economy Calls.

The acquisition for an undisclosed sum, has helped the Lancashire-based fixed line communications provider boost its customer base by 25 per cent, with more than, 5,700 customers transferred from Economy Calls.

Earlier this year, daisy was awarded £5m in interest-free funding in the Bank of Scotland corporate challenge, money it allocated to pursue its acquisition strategy.

Matthew Riley, chief executive of daisy, said the deal was the first in a ‘ongoing acquisition strategy’.

“It was always our intention to use the £5m funding from the Bank of Scotland as the foundation to pursue acquisitions in the fragmented reseller market and working closely with the bank, this deal is the first of several planned for the coming year.”

Mark Hickey, sales director at daisy, said: “We make no secret that it is our intention to become the largest independent reseller of choice, providing an added value service to smaller resellers. in order to achieve these objectives, we will look to continue with our successful acquisition strategy and Economy Calls is further evidence of this.”

Anthony Thomas, managing director of Economy Calls, said: “daisy was a great company to deal with, and I was very impressed with Matthew Riley and his team when I met them. I had spoken to other companies in the past, but it was daisy which stood out as the one to do business with.

“I see this deal as a real progression for our customers. They will now have access to a much wider range of products than we could offer ourselves and, of course, they will benefit from daisy’s outstanding customer care.”

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