Maintel 'focused on growth' after scotching Daisy rumours

Maintel has issued a bullish trading update after putting the kibosh on rumours of a possible takeover by larger rival Daisy.

The AIM-listed cloud and comms provider said it expects 2020 adjusted EBITDA and revenue to be in line with guidance it issued in September, despite having to contend with an unforeseen second national lockdown in November.

The trading update comes three days after Maintel scotched "press speculation" of a takeover possible approach from Daisy.

"Daisy confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for Maintel," the statement read, despite a report earlier on Friday from Sky News linking Daisy to a possible £70m offer.

Maintel stressed it is "focused on growth" and that cash generation in the period was "strong", adding that its transition to a "cloud and managed services business" continues. It hit 102,000 contract cloud seats by 31 December 2020, two million ahead of its target.

"We are delighted to be able to announce that, despite the unforeseen second national lockdown in Q4, we were still able to achieve the goals we set out for our second half, while continuing to develop our business and position it for a competitive future," said Maintel CEO Ioan MacRae

"That we were able to meet or exceed all our financial targets, while continuing to develop our capabilities and exceed 100,000 cloud seats, is a testament to our employees' talent and dedication. We look forward to providing further updates as the year progresses."