‘We’re entering a golden era for Softcat and for our industry’: CEO Graham Charlton on £2bn GII milestone

The UK’s top reseller boss talks high double-digits growth, AI momentum and M&A plans in the US

Softcat has reported soaring figures for H1 FY26, fuelled by growth across all segments and particularly strong momentum in hardware.

GII jumped 33.3 per cent, rising from £1.5bn to £2bn.

Software increased 18.6 per cent to £1.1bn, compared with £942.8m the year prior, driven by demand for security solutions.

Services reached £306.7m, a 29 per cent jump from £237.7m, thanks to contribution from partner-delivered services.

Hardware leapt 78.7 per cent year-on-year to £583.6m, up from £326.6m the year prior.

Momentum in the division was driven by datacentre and networking infrastructure, server and compute sales, including the contribution from larger solutions projects.

“AI-driven datacentre investment is a major factor,” Graham Charlton, CEO of Softcat, tells CRN.

“Will it continue? Yes, because investment in AI infrastructure will continue.

“AI is a tailwind across all areas. That’s why I believe we’re entering a golden era for Softcat and for our industry.”

“I don’t think we, or many companies in the channel at our scale, have grown at these kinds of rates for a very long time.”

Revenue climbed 53.5 per cent, form £545.6m to £837.5m.

Gross profit skyrocketed 22.6 per cent, reaching £269m compared with £220.2m at the same time the year before.

Tech trends driving growth

Beyond AI and datacentres, the firm sees modern workspace, security, networking as well as data and automation as creating further opportunities moving forward.

Despite memory shortages currently affecting the tech industry, the CEO does not expect constraints to negatively impact operations moving forward, noting it has even helped accelerate some deals during the period.

“Component shortages have also played a role, particularly in the second quarter, by pulling some deals forward into the period we’re reporting.”

While he acknowledges that lead times and prices will likely increase, he adds it is hard to predict which infrastructure segments will be most affected or how the balance between consumer and commercial demand will shift.

“If datacentre projects slow because of lead times, we can still support customers with security, networking, connectivity and other areas.

“In times like this, having a broad proposition becomes even more valuable.”

Offering evolution

The firm has also reportedly increased the breadth of its offering during the first half of the year through enhanced collaboration with existing vendors such as Microsoft, Dell and Cisco, which continue to expand their own portfolios and evolve their partner programmes.

It also deals with new vendors entering the market, who often comes to Softcat first because of its scale and breadth, says the IT leader.

“They want partners who can position their solutions within the wider infrastructure stack rather than just within one niche area.”

The firm’s capabilities have also evolved thanks to its acquisition of Oakland last year, which added data engineering expertise.

Building on its first-ever buyout, the VAR is now actively evaluating how M&A could support the continued evolution of its portfolio.

“We don’t have to make acquisitions because our organic growth allows us to invest heavily.

“But we also have a strong balance sheet and cash flow, which means we can accelerate growth through M&A if the right opportunity arises.

“We have multiple options and that’s very exciting for us.”

This evolving offering led to customer base growing 3.5 per cent over the period.

Gross profit per customer increased 19 per cent.

Clients are also served by an expanding workforce, as headcount expanded 7.7 per cent year-on-year, 10.5 per cent including employees added through the Oakland takeover.

International operations

The CEO, who previously described Softcat’s operations as “truly global”, says the company now operates a branch network covering the US, Canada, Europe and the Far East, enabling it to support customer needs across most regions.

The US is its most developed international market, with 25 people working there and operating as a full subsidiary, supporting existing UK customers with US operations while also building a new local pipeline of business.

The company’s Irish branch is also gaining good traction, while operations in the Far East are reportedly run by a small but growing team.

“We’re continuing to invest organically in these regions, and our vendor relationships in those territories are also expanding.

“We’re building distribution partnerships as well.”

While CRN**’s top-ranked VAR** reportedly does not need to do deals because of its organic evolution opportunity, Charlton highlights that he remains open to accelerating international growth through M&A.

He identifies the US in particular as very attractive, as the largest IT market in the world with a strong connection to the UK.

While the firm established a worst-case scenario, where the current geopolitical and economic could lead to an average five per cent reduction in revenue, Charlton sees this outcome as “highly unlikely.”

“It’s a risk-based statement rather than a realistic forecast.”

Outlook

With results ahead of expectations, Charlton is confident about delivering a strong full-year performance above previous projections.

While uncertainties such as component shortage and geopolitical tensions including the conflict in the Middle East have risen, he notes that customers still need to build the infrastructure required for the years ahead.

The firms now forecast high single-digit growth in underlying operating profit in FY26, up from low single-digit previously.

“Demand remains strong and we’re confident about the outcome for the full year,” adds the CEO.