MSP Wavenet changes PE hands from Beech Tree to Macquarie Capital

KCOM owners to take over at Wavenet after seven years of Beech Tree

Macquarie Capital has agreed to purchase cloud telecoms, IT and technology MSP Wavenet from private equity firm Beech Tree.

Beech Tree invested in Wavenet back in 2016, overseeing its growth from a £14m turnover business to over £60m in 2021 through a mixture of acquisitions and organic growth.

The Wavenet transaction follows other Macquarie Capital investments in UK medium-sized businesses such as Glasgow-based Energetics and Yorkshire-based Premier Technical Services Group.

"This investment provides us with a unique opportunity to deploy our flexible capital to grow a leading UK technology provider at a time when organisations across the country are looking for increasingly innovative technology solutions," Adam Joseph, head of private equity for Macquarie Capital Principal Finance Europe, said.

"We are looking forward to using our experience from growing other UK businesses to support the development of Wavenet both from an organic and acquisitive standpoint."

Wavenet's more recent acquisitions include VIA, Townley and Qubic, which the MSP says have allowed the business to "deliver a comprehensive suite of connectivity, cloud and cyber services and confidently move into the ITaaS space" which is supported by a partnership with HPE.

The company was also recently awarded a five-year contract for the DVLA's contact centre services and back office, with Wavenet claiming the new investment will provide "a renewed focus on strategic acquisitions".

"I am extremely grateful for Beech Tree's support and advice over the last five years, the team have been integral in empowering the expansion and development which has resulted in our fantastic growth," Bill Dawson, CEO at Wavenet said.

"As a team, we are excited to continue to build on this growth as we enter our new partnership with Macquarie.

"I am confident that the passion and quality of our people, management and infrastructure combined with Macquarie's experience will drive us to even greater success in the future."