Microsoft partners Utilize and C2 unite
Utilize swallows half of Scottish firm, claiming Brexit did not put it off
Reseller Utilize has swallowed a 50 per cent stake in Scottish Microsoft partner C2, insisting that Brexit concerns did not put the firms off completing the deal.
Utilize is a Romford-based reseller which works with Microsoft, HP, HPE, Sophos, Dell and VMware, while Dundee-based C2 specialises in Microsoft cloud technology, specifically Dynamics CRM.
Utilize snapped up a 50 per cent stake in C2, bringing its turnover to £14m and headcount to 120. Finlay Carmichael and Kirk Potter, the two major shareholders in C2, will continue to run the business.
Guy Hocking, Utilize's operations director, told CRN that retaining the duo's talent is crucial to the company's success.
"Finlay and Kirk are paramount to continuing the good work that C2 have already achieved and the shared vision and future success of both our companies," he said "We see us all having a stake in that mutual success paramount to making this work for the long term."
Utilize, which was founded in 1997, describes itself as a IT services business, offering support and cloud hosting, networking and telecoms. Hocking said that acquiring firms that are firmly established in the new cloudy world is important.
"We see Dynamics CRM Online becoming [important] - Microsoft are pumping millions into it," he said. "Rather than building out a team internally by hiring one or two developers, we thought it would be best to acquire expertise."
The acquisition was made just a week after the UK voted to leave the EU, prompting significant uncertainty about the future of the UK's role in Europe, and the union of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland too, after the latter two voted to remain, and the former to leave.
Hocking said although C2 is based in Dundee, and despite the Brexit uncertainty, the firm believes in carrying on doing business as usual.
"It hasn't scuppered things," he said. "Scotland are very pro-Remain but it has not really affected things at all. It's a good advert for business as usual and getting on with it. It's not affected it and, for me, that's a positive thing."
Utilize's managing director Warren Davies said acquisitions remain an important part of the firm's growth strategy.
"Utilize has made a total of five acquisitions in its history and all have increased bottom-line profit and cash reserves within the first year of integration," he said.
"The challenge with any acquisition is not simply the integration itself but in achieving profitability as quickly as possible. This requires building on a shared vision and culture, whereby the right staff are in place to run the business and help facilitate growth. With C2, we have invested in a profitable business and an increasingly desirable skillset."