Solar takes giant leap with Armstrong acquisition

Merger of ShoreTel partners creates 70-strong VAR

Voice and data VAR Solar Communications has acquired fellow ShoreTel partner Armstrong Communications in a move designed to give it national coverage.

Solar, which has offices in London and Chippenham, has boosted turnover from £2m to £10m since chief executive Mark Colquhoun took over the firm in 2007.

Armstrong will add another £3m to the top line, handing it a Manchester office, 23 additional staff, a partnership with vendor Mitel and relationships with high-profile customers including General Motors and Balfour Beatty.

Colquhoun said the duo would become a "powerful national force" within the communications industry.

Talking to ChannelWeb, Colquhoun put Solar's growth spurt down to ShoreTel's recent rise to prominence in the UK.

"ShoreTel has grown by a similar amount over the same period and, as their number one partner, their success has reflected in our success," he explained.

Armstrong, which was founded in 1995, is Solar's first acquisition since Colquhoun took the helm.

"We are always looking for acquisitions," Colquhoun said. "But whereas a lot of people make acquisitions purely for revenue, for us it is very much about acquiring skills sets and customers.

"In Armstrong we have enlarged our engineering resources and added Mitel to our portfolio. If we come across other acquistions that provide us with skills sets or geography, we will make them."

Grahame Smee, managing director of ShoreTel distributor Cohort Technology, said: "Solar is a company that is growing rapidly and taking a very aggressive position in the unified communications market. This is obviously a continuation of its growth plans."