GCI bags £50m acquisition war chest

MSP says it will continue to invest in its Microsoft Office 365, Skype and Azure capabilities

Managed services provider GCI plans to continue beefing up its Microsoft skills after securing a £50m "acquisition growth fund".

The fresh funds come courtesy of the Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC in a deal brokered with the support of KPMG.

On the back of acquiring the assets of Outsourcery in June and another Microsoft partner, AI Cubed, in July, GCI claims to have more than 60 Microsoft-certified professionals in its 300-strong organisation.

GCI acquired another firm, SMS services specialist Packet Media, in September, and CFO Mark Allen said its latest funding boost represents "another step in our journey and our relentless pursuit of building a world-class managed services organisation".

GFI CEO Adrian Thirkill added: "We are already making very good use of the additional funding now available to us and will continue to invest in our capabilities around Office 365, Skype for Business, Azure, Cloud PBX and our growing PCI compliance services."

HSBC's area corporate director Roger Pratt said: "We are delighted to support GCI through the next stage of its life cycle. Operating in an ever-changing ICT sector as technology advances, the group is expanding quickly and has been highly successful over a sustained period of time. GCI's executive management have a clear strategic plan for the next five years, and we look forward to supporting GCI during this exciting period."