Azzurri puts Axxent on rapid expansion
Networking VAR makes eleventh acquisition in four years
Networking VAR Azzurri Communications has made its eleventh acquisition in just four years as it bolsters its position as the UK's largest independent voice and data reseller.
The acquisition-hungry VAR bought Kingston-based mobile consultancy firm Axxent last week for £2.7m, to increase its share in the growing mobility market. Earlier this year it bought VAR Everlogic.
Axxent, which provides and manages products and services including mobile voice, data and email to clients such as Buckingham Palace, the Inland Revenue and TetraPak, will be fully incorporated into Azzurri's business over the next two months.
Martin St Quinton, chief executive of Azzurri, told CRN: "We feel the mobility and wireless communications market is pretty significant and will become increasingly so in the future.
"We wanted to strengthen our hand; we have a strong fixed-line offering in the UK but wanted to get more serious about the corporate and wireless end of the market."
The firm will not make any redundancies as a result but will "extend the business quite significantly", St Quinton said.
He added: "This is an exciting sector, and we have a good group of companies under the Azzurri name. We now have a strong foundation on which to build and are keen to acquire more businesses to further strengthen what we have."
Martin Flick, formerly managing director of Axxent, will take up the position of sales director at the Azzurri Group.
Flick said: "The extra support and expertise available within the Azzurri Group was a major pulling point for us. The closely aligned ethos of both firms, along with the success in delivering added value and unrivalled service levels, makes us a complementary addition to the Group."