Swift MS embarks on buy-and-build journey

Aggressive VAR hopes to become a £25m managed services player in three years

Ambitious VAR Swift Managed Services is planning to become a £25m managed services player through a mix of buy-and-build and organic growth.

The Crewe-based firm, which is headed by experienced entrepreneur Mark Salvin, was born out of a merger of IT services player Swift Computers and specialist connectivity reseller Easy Connect.

It recently acquired managed email specialist Corpex Ltd for an undisclosed sum, the first in a series of acquisitions to help it hit its £25m goal.

Salvin, who sold his Fused Group to Griffin Internet in 2010, said he was keen to talk to other services players looking for an exit route.

“Our intention is to build, through organic growth and acquisitions, a managed services company which would provide most business functions via the cloud, backed up with device management and software management as well,” he told CRN.

He said the firm had a war chest of between £10m and £12m and was looking at buying firms in the £250,000 to £2m range with a good geographical spread.

“We are hoping to achieve half our growth organically and the rest through acquisition. We have only had this strategy in place since September and are hoping to hit all our goals within three years,” he added. “Clearly there is a lot of opportunity to acquire businesses out there at the moment. We are in a good position to do that, dependent on prices, obviously.”

Speaking specifically about Corpex, he said the firm was a good fit.

“Corpex had quite a sophisticated mail management platform and an excellent customer base, but unfortunately it ran into difficulties in the recession,” he added. “Our intention is to take the platform and merge it with ours. The upsell opportunities this acquisition offers us are great.”

Salvin explained that the type of firm he was looking for would have a good customer business, with a strong sales function and a high standard of service.

“We are not vendor-tied in any way,” he said. “We already partner with Microsoft, Apple, HP, Citrix, VMware and Dell, among others. Our value is providing support and professional services along with products that fit the business needs of our clients.”