2e2 Channel Islands leader upbeat on Logicalis deal

MD Jonathan Crichard and local tech advocacy body salute the saving of 100 jobs and look to growth

The leader of 2e2's Channel Islands business has expressed his delight at its acquisition by Logicalis and claimed the deal speaks to the hard work and talent of his staff.

It was announced earlier this week that Logicalis had sealed a €24m (£20.7m) deal to acquire 2e2's operations in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Channel Islands. The cumulative revenue of the businesses is about £100m, with 500 staff on the books, more than 100 of which are in Jersey and Guernsey.

Jonathan Crichard, managing director of 2e2CI, expressed his gratitude for the support of staff, partners and customers during the past few weeks. He also claimed that the company will have a bright future under its new owners.

"This is great news and a great outcome for our staff, customers and the islands. To be purchased by such a leading industry provider is testament to us all," he said. "I, along with my co-directors, would like to take this opportunity to express a huge thank you for the ongoing support of our staff, clients and suppliers throughout this process.

"We are all very pleased with the outcome and look forward to working with our new owners, are excited about our future prospects and we and all our staff remain committed to and focused on our valued customers."

Logicalis group chief executive Ian Cook earlier this week told CRN that no redundancies were planned in the four businesses, with management teams set to remain in place.

Independent technology body Jersey Digital has also welcomed the acquisition as a boon for the tech industry in the region. Chief executive Ted Ridgway Watt also expressed his pleasure at seeing a global entity such as Logicalis land in the islands.

"This is an extremely positive and exciting development for our local digital economy," he said. "The acquisition of 2e2 by Logicalis brings a large and reputable new IT service provider to our islands and additionally has secured more than 100 local jobs. Furthermore, the strong international partnerships that Logicalis has in place have the potential to be of great benefit in future business development efforts."

2e2 acquired its Channel Islands arm through its £13.25m acquisition of the offshore services business of XKO in 2005. Also included in that deal was an Isle of Man operation, which last month was bought by local entrepreneur Iain Fairbairn and rebranded as Argon Technologies, safeguarding 27 Manx jobs in the process.